By Geoff Fein
Fincantieri and Boeing [BA] are looking to bring their expertise in shipbuilding and military rotorcraft to build the Navy’s replacement for the landing craft air cushion or LCAC.
The Navy wants to replace its fleet of aging LCACs with what is being dubbed the Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC).
Boeing and shipbuilder Marinette Marine, a division of Fincantieri, had been in discussions about the possibility of partnering for SSC for more than three years, Richard McCreary, president and chief executive officer of Marinette Marine, told Defense Daily recently.
“We viewed it originally as a shipbuilding program because it is a NAVSEA program. But we have also believed that this is such a unique craft that we felt it was absolutely necessary to have a team member like Boeing Advanced Rotorcraft,” McCreary said. “They bring all of the technological expertise of fly-by-wire and rotating systems. That was all part of the original genesis of the teaming.”
More recently, Boeing and Marinette Marine have added Oceaneering International Inc. to the family, he added.
“In a joint decision with Boeing, we felt that adding the contractor that is the proven and performing contractor on the LCAC SLEP (service life extension) program, that they could bring a great deal of knowledge with regard to the shortfalls of the LCAC and how we could design around them for the SSC,” McCreary noted.
The team later added Griffon Hoverwork Ltd., he added, to bring in a designer that specializes in hovercraft to augment Marinette Marine’s design team as well as Boeing’s.
Boeing was looking for opportunities for growth, Greg Peterson, SSC program manager, told Defense Daily during the same interview.
“Our advanced rotorcraft systems picked up on this program,” he said.
Additionally, Boeing believes it has many of the capabilities the Navy needs for SSC, Peterson added.
The two biggest of those technologies are the digital flight control system that Boeing is moving to a pilot, co-pilot arrangement and the high power-to-weight ratio propulsion drive system, he said.
“Getting a package that is able to produce the vertical lift and performance that this hovercraft needs is no different than what we do in the rotorcraft community, except this is always at sea level,” Peterson said. “In that role, it is not only providing that high power-to-weight, it’s giving a significant increase in reliability and maintainability that the systems are inherently required to do in a rotorcraft.”
Peterson added that the reliability and maintainability hits on what LCAC, and now SSC, are guaranteeing the Navy–the ability to ensure that when the service needs the craft they are available and able to get the job done.
Boeing’s expertise in leading-edge technologies for rotorcraft drive trains, transmissions and rotors will also be a key part of the company’s role, Chris Chadwick, president of Boeing military aircraft, told Defense Daily recently.
“In addition to these key rotorcraft technologies, we will be responsible for the overall systems integration of the major systems that relate to engine, craft control, navigation and communication,” he said. “The SSC is a large complex craft, and Boeing’s strengths in systems engineering design, low cost manufacturing, supply chain management and total global life cycle support are key discriminators required for the SSC.”
The team has been awarded five SSC Technical Study contracts to date for:
- Machinery reliability, availability and maintainability;
- Gearbox concepts;
- High durability protection schemes; and
- Composite lift fan structure.
Wisconsin-based Marinette Marine, is the prime contractor and hull form shipbuilder for the SSC. For its part, Boeing will design, supply and integrate the platform’s advanced rotorcraft systems.
If the team wins the SSC contract, the prime and subcontractor roles could eventually reverse, McCreary noted.
“Post acquisition, for whatever follow-on sustainment contract could be competed for–or however that gets configured–Boeing would be the prime and we would merely be a subcontractor in support,” he said.
The Boeing-Fincantieri team is competing for the SSC contract against the current LCAC builder Textron [TXT] Marine & Land Systems, which has partnered with L-3 [LLL] and Alcoa [AA] Defense.
The request for proposals is expected to be released in the fourth quarter of 2010, possibly in the October timeframe, with a tentative contract award date of third quarter 2011.
The current Navy plan calls for one test craft and 72 operational units with the delivery of the initial test and training craft to occur in the 2016-2017 timeframe.