M Ship Co
October 28, 2008
M Ship Receives $2M Congressional Funding for Development of Safer Vessels for Special Operations Forces
- M-hull-based technology will help reduce high incidence of injuries in SOC operators
- Shock load on military personnel reduced by 50 percent with M-hull technology
- Funding contained in FY 2009 appropriations for Dept. of Defense
The San Diego-based company received $2 million in Congressional funding that will allow USSOUTHCOM to rapidly field an operational demonstrator for the evaluation of a shock-mitigating craft. The craft will feature an advanced hull design and will be constructed of advanced composite materials to reduce operational injuries and lower procurement risk.
"M Ship's advanced hull research has demonstrated significant reduction of human exposure to accumulated spine stresses and repetitive impact injuries of personnel aboard high-speed military craft," said Bill Burns, designer and co-founder of M Ship Co.
An analysis of the mechanical shock effects of high-speed planing boats by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that high-speed operations, combined with factors of boat design/size and ocean waves, result in an adverse shock environment for the personnel and the equipment aboard. The study showed that the Special Warfare Combat Crewman (SWCC) suffered almost 100 percent injury occurrence rate as their time in Special Boat Unit (SBU) increased above 10 years.
Side-by-side testing with USSOUTHCOM and M Ship on August 7, 2007, between M Ship's M-hull technology demonstrator and a Naval Special Warfare 11M-RIB showed to USSOUTHCOM the M-hull design's remarkable performance advantages in reduced crew injuries through well over 50 percent shock mitigation.
"San Diego is home to USSOUTHCOM, U.S. Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection and Navy personnel who have high-speed missions on the water making them vulnerable to unnecessary injury," Burns added. "We are developing technology that will protect these coastal guardians without costing a lot of money." The funding for the project is contained in H.R. 2638, the "Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009" signed into law on Sept. 30, 2008, and contains FY 2009 appropriations for the Department of Defense.
The demonstrator vessel will be an outgrowth of the futuristic looking M80 Stiletto. The Stiletto is an 88-foot experimental M-hull craft that earlier this year completed a successful 6,000 nautical-mile deployment on a drug interdiction and apprehension mission with USSOUTHCOM in the waters off Colombia, the Bahamas and the Florida Straits.
An internal study prepared by USSOUTHCOM for Pentagon leaders, as reported by InsideDefense NewsStand, lauded the performance of the Stiletto, which successfully met all program objectives for the operational evaluation of the 88-foot craft.
The operation included a number of "firsts":
- First carbon-fiber, M-hull vessel used in real-world operations
- First Office of the Secretary of Defense experimental vessel supported real-world operations
- First airship to coordinate with Stiletto to demonstrate a new concept of operations (CONOPS) for counter-illicit trafficking operations
The M80 Stiletto won Time Magazine's 2006 Best Invention of the Year Award for the Armed Services, and demonstrates a refreshing "try before you buy" approach to developing new ship designs and technologies that offer joint agencies and coalition forces affordable, mission-accomplishing capabilities. The Stiletto also was named as the Most Innovative New Product for 2006 in the General Technology category at CONNECT's annual MIP Awards.
About M Ship Co.
M Ship Co., LLC, is an award-winning maritime design firm formed to develop the innovative M-hullŪ technology. M Ship creates and develops transformational solutions for the maritime industry by applying creative design and physical science with talented people in a work environment that inspires innovation, integrity, respect and responsibility. For more information, visit www.mshipco.com.