Is that a Warship out in Green Bay? Manitowoc battling for Navy contract
July 30, 08 by TheFleetIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
See Also: Photo Gallery of Sea Trials by Dick Lund
by Rick Barrett | Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A prototype of a smaller, speedy Navy combat ship is undergoing sea trials on Lake Michigan this week as it nears completion at a shipyard in Marinette.
The 378-foot vessel, named Freedom, has been built by the Manitowoc Marine Group, the ship-fleet division of Manitowoc Co.
Monday, the Manitowoc prototype underwent its first sea trials on Green Bay. The ship reached speeds of about 15 knots but is capable of cutting through the water much faster.
Manitowoc, as part of a team headed by Lockheed Martin Corp., will compete with another team headed by General Dynamics for the right to build the combat ships. A number of prototypes could be built and tested before the Navy settles on a final design.
The Navy envisions a competition for the ship’s final design. Eventually it could buy 55 of the warships for quick-strike operations along shallow coastlines, where enemy forces are able to hide from bigger Navy vessels.
Besides Freedom, Manitowoc is pursuing other large marine contracts that could result in millions of dollars in sales.
One of the contracts would be for a fleet of 150-foot Coast Guard cutters that would keep the company’s shipyard busy for years.
… Manitowoc, through its Marinette Marine Corp. division, has a contract to build other boats for the Coast Guard. The 45-foot boats, powered by a jet drive propulsion system, are capable of reaching speeds of 40 to 50 mph. They are meant to replace the aging fleet of 41-foot boats built more than 30 years ago.
Eventually, the Coast Guard says it could order as many as 250 of the 45-foot boats at a total value of up to $600 million.
Much more about Manitowoc’s bids, contracts and company performance at the Journal Sentinel >>
