HSV Swift gives lessons in “soft power”

I have always felt that the Incat and Austal built catamaran ferries, leased by the US Army and Navy early this decade as testbeds for the littoral combat ship concept, should have been purchased outright and placed to work in this role. No need for going to the ship designers and creating a brand new costly and complicated warship program, which is what the $500 million USS Freedom has become. The HSV Swift and her kin have continued with the LCS role already without bells or whistles, proving the concept of warfare off the shelf works. Read this from the Navy Times:

Boat repair, port security and basic law enforcement are part of the core curriculum available from the trainers aboard the high-speed vessel Swift, now three nations deep into a seven-nation tour of Central and South America as the United States’ floating embassy. Dubbed the “southern partnership station,” the Swift is becoming a regular visitor to many ports in the 4th Fleet area of operations, which is exactly what the Navy wants.

“This puts the U.S. military in good standing down here with these countries,” said Cmdr. Chris Barnes, the Swift’s mission commander, who spoke to Navy Times from Jamaica.

The Swift is performing missions which the Big Ship Navy can’t do, and is likely equally effective. She isn’t scaring anyone with her “presence” as say, a giant Aegis battleship or supercarrier might, but she still is a symbol of the awesome firepower the US Navy is able to bear upon any potential foe if needed.

The Swift is an entirely self-contained, military-to-military training center. It has a customizable mission bay; its own complement of small boats that students can practice repairing; and its own onboard classrooms. When the ship pulls into an austere port and the host military doesn’t have its own training center, local sailors or coast guardsmen can come aboard the Swift.

The article goes on to declare the USN and Army will purchase a total of 10 similar craft, dubbed the Joint High Speed Vessel. Here’s a thought-why not cancel or cutback some of the current LCS class which is untested and costly, buy or lease more of these well tested and highly effective littoral ships in its place?

From left, the Navy’s Joint Venture (HSV-X1) and the Army’s Spearhead (TSV-1X) are high-speed catamarans designed and built by Australian shipbuilders.