First read The Bayou Renaissance Man Blog's take on the JHSV here.
Then consider this....allocating a squadron to the 25th ID. They could deploy in 72 hours to most parts of the Pacific and arrive in with full gear. No light infantry overmatch concerns, they're bringing armored vehicles, artillery etc.
If it can't change Marine Corps ops, it would certainly revolutionize the Army.
I think that the JHSV was oversold in that article. Not saying it is bad design but be careful being oeversold on a weapons system *cough* F-35 *cough*.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I understand of the Westpac express it could easily carry a full infantry company/artillery battery, but was not capable of an entire BN. So 2-3 lifts to move a infantry BN depending on what they are carrying.
Also they are extremely sea state limited, i think anything above sea state 3 leaves them in port.
My opinion is that they are a great design and will provide a huge boost to our capabilities for the price. If you compare the price 1 JHSV = 1.2 F-35B = 2 MV-22B = 1 C-17.
By at least 20 of these station them around the pacific and we will have a new much improved transport.
i can buy that. 10 with the 25th in Hawaii...another 5 over in Washington state (forgot who's out there...i know they have a infantry, ranger and SF units) and then scatter the rest sounds like a plan...better spent money too.
DeleteCan you provide a link for the sea state limitations?? From what I can find it can sustain 35 knots at state-3. The design in certified to sea state 7. They do need a calm port to load and unload.
DeleteNo that is from what I heard when talking to people that used it in Okinawa. The complaint was that you can spend an extra day or 2 sitting at the pier waiting on the weather and then are dashed across the Pacific. The conlusion was to stay flexible and put a couple of days of flex on both the front and back end when planning your exercises.
DeleteSoloman, I like the idea of having some of these with the Army in Washington and Hawaii. But how would that work in practical terms? Are these things capable of hauling Army units all the way across the Pacific from WA and HI to where the fight is in the western Pacific? Or would you have to base these in the western Pacific, fly/sealift the Army to a staging point, and then use these to ferry the Army around?
ReplyDeletewell you would have to almost go back to the Great White Fleet of having refueling stations just to be safe, but they supposedly have the range. the JHSV in Washington State would sail to San Diego, top off and then make the trip to Hawaii, do the same and then head to the Philippines, then Japan or Philippines and we can't forget using Guam in all this cause i eventually see the Army getting a Stryker Brigade in Australia (why should we keep them from sharing in the fun of being in a country where half the wildlife is trying to kill ya?)...
DeleteSol,
DeleteHalf the wildlife here in Australia doesn't want to kill you. Half the wildlife here in Australia wants to maim you and eat you. That's how it's done here. :D
Ok, go to San Diego, load up/top up ... and then where? How or why factor Guam and Hawaii if China's first strike will be these two places? By the time the JHSV arrives off the coast, these two sites will be a smuldering heap of I-don't-know-what and the JHSV will be running low on fuel
i'm thinking proxy war or minor conflict. if its full scale combat then they'll be escorted with a carrier battle group that will have transports that can keep up.
DeleteOk, proxy war. If it's a proxy war, don't you want to keep your identity secret? Don't you want to send people covertly? JHSV ain't necessarily covert.
DeleteOne weakness with JHSV is the requirement for a pier. It's high-speed Ro-Ro vessel.
Am I looking at this in a wrong way?
Korea, Vietnam (both the US and French involvement), Afghanistan (Russian invasion version), the 7 day war, and many others are all proxy wars that directly involved the US against Soviet or Chinese forces. in the examples i gave the US openly fought in two out of four and in the other two examples openly supplied one side.
Deleteas far as piers are concerned we have the MLP (yeah i hate it but it would prove useful) that can transfer vehicles from the JHSV onto LCACs if a pier isn't available. in 99 percent of its use though a pier would be available. the Army isn't in the assault or the follow on assault echelon. the Marine Corps would still establish the beachhead and the Army would reinforce or expand it...ideally the Marines would conduct an amphibious assault, sea bees would build dock facilities, Airborne would conduct an assault on or near the objective, the Strykr Brigade would land and link up and the Marines would withdraw to either make another landing elsewhere or go back to being a force in readiness, leaving the Army to fight the war....
And it is something the Japanese MDF should look into as well for their Western Infantry Regiment. If they are concerned with somebody taking a stab at seizing one of their islands, there should be serious consideration given to a ship like this.
ReplyDeleteI could easily see a bunch of these stationed in Australia, the Philippines, Guam, Hawaii, Okinawa. Not to mention the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf as well.
For one, it doesn't make since to have only capital ships as your key response units since they could be missile-bait.
For another, it makes a traditional amphib operation more robust. If a MEU makes a landing and within the next 24 hours a dozen of JHSVs arrive on station and another dozen en route, it makes it that much more dangerous for an enemy. Follow that on with an MLP and some RO/RO ships delivering a Stryker brigade, and it gets even bigger.
Great idea however for the Pacific, we only need to send fighting vehicles that can swim.
ReplyDelete2nd ID has three Stryker Brigades (currently) at Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington. 25th ID has Stryker Brigades in Hawaii and Alaska. I know that there were amphibious variants of the Stryker/LAVIII hull, so it would be interesting to see those modifications being made to support an amphibious assault capability. In WWII the Army proved in two theaters that the Big Green Machine can establish a beachhead if we have the ability to get there. Considering that the Army is looking at cutting back a Stryker Brigade due to force cuts, any bets on if the USMC asks for those vehicles?
ReplyDelete