replace its fast attack craſt. Te ship will be developed by the Naval Shipbuilding Centre in Kaohsiung under the Hsunhai (Swiſt Sea) programme, which is at the research stage with no funding for a first-of-class as yet. A Defence Ministry artist’s impression shows a
39.5m vessel with eight Hsiung Feng missiles, a 76mm gun, a Phalanx close-in weapon system and a helicop- ter flight deck for medium aircraft. Local sources suggest the ship would have a crew of 45. Te combat system will include a Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology combat management system. It will probably receive indigenous search/track and fire control radars together with an electro-optical director, with equipment from paid off ships. Taiwan is developing ‘stealth’ ship designs and is
building the first Kwang Hua 6 (KH-6), a 180-tonne fast-attack craſt with four Hsiung Feng IIs. Taipei plans to replace 40 Hai Oui class fast attack craſt with 29 KH-6.
Repair & conversion HMS Blyth begins
upgrades Te Sandown class single-role minehunter HMS Blyth has started a six-month Support Period Docking (SP(D)) being undertaken by Babcock at Rosyth. Te programme includes a number of upgrades, including two first-of- class fits, as well as a substantial maintenance package. Capability upgrades will include a new high pressure
(HP) air system. Te new configuration increases the system pressure and extends the life of the system, as well as offering important cost and space benefits due to the significantly reduced number of bottles, which can now be maintained on board (having previously had to be removed for servicing and revalidation). Other upgrades include a new ammunition storage system and ammunition protection (Response to Attack on Ammunition, or RATTAM) in the main magazine. In addition, HMS Blyth will be the first single
role minehunter to receive the Defence Information Infrastructure (Future) (DII(F)), which provides a coherent infrastructure enabling information sharing and collaborative working across the defence sector network. A further first-of-class fit will provide remote isolation capability to the waste water system. A full hull survey and repair package, exchange
of the starboard Voith Schneider propeller unit and renewal and repair of all 41 ship side valves will also be undertaken, as well as re-siting of 5tonnes of ballast. Further work will include Sonar 2093 maintenance, servicing of air conditioning plants, shafting and propulsion system inspection and maintenance, and servicing of deck machinery and auxiliary systems, along with modifications to improve living quarters. Te vessel will also receive the new polymer-based
Warship Technology July/August 2010
foul-release paint system to the outer bottom, which improves the ship’s speed and fuel efficiency, as well as blasting and renewal of all weather-deck paint coatings, preservation of all superstructure areas, and renewal of internal deck coverings. HMS Blyth will leave Rosyth for sea trials in
November.
HMS Blyth is undergoing a six-month Support Period Docking at Babcock at Rosyth.
Equipment & technology USN exercises JHSV
equipment options Te US Navy has exercised contract options funding Austal’s acquisition of long lead-time material (LLTM) associated with the construction of two more 103m Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSVs). Te award is valued at US$99,557,548. Austal, as the prime contractor, was awarded the initial
contract to design and build the first 103m JHSV in November 2008. General Dynamics Advanced Informa- tion Systems is the platform mission systems engineering agent responsible for the design, integration and test of the ship’s electronic mission systems, including an open architecture computing infrastructure, internal and external communications, electronic navigation, aviation and armament systems. Spearhead (JHSV 1) is currently under construction
in Austal’s Module Manufacturing Facility (MMF) with a keel-laying ceremony scheduled for this summer. Te contract included options for nine additional vessels to be awarded between FY09 and FY13 for a total value of up to US$1.6 billion. Construction of JHSV 2 is scheduled to start in September 2010 and JHSV 3 in May 2011. Te current award funds LLTM acquisition efforts for JHSV 4 and 5. WT
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