The combined mobile offshore base is larger than the city. For the liberating soldiers, it will become a home in a hostile environment.
Earlier this year, in preparation for the war with Iraq, American diplomats began to persuade their allies in the countries adjacent to Iraq to provide a simple service - to allow their territory to be used as a springboard for attacks on Iraqi military installations and weapons factories. And with each refusal, it became clearer that America actually had fewer friends than expected. It also became clear that it would be better not to rely on diplomats in future counter-terrorism strikes. So, in a rather unexpected way, the idea, which was born in the mid-1990s, received a second wind. If American troops cannot count on friends, they will have to rely on technology that has taken the form of a warship - a mobile offshore military base.
Today's view of things is as follows. The Joint Mobile Offshore Base (JMOB) will be a complex of modular self-propelled platforms, each measuring approximately 300 by 150 meters, and a height of approximately 35 meters. The platforms could cross the ocean at a speed of 15 knots (28 km / h). It is not very fast, but in a month the entire structure can be assembled anywhere in the world.
They would have met in neutral waters - out of the reach of enemy weapons and radars. As they arrived, they would be connected roughly as shown in the illustration. The result would be a giant floating fortress.
The main advantage of such a platform would be its ability to adapt to any type and stage of conflict. Initially, during the air training phase, it would be an air base and would serve as an airstrip for heavy bombers (for example, the B52), which today can only be deployed at ground bases. Subsequently, during the invasion phase, the JMOB would adapt to receive civilian transport aircraft with reservists. From there, the troops would have reached the shore with the help of hovercraft and assault boats, which would have departed from the floors below the runway. After the battle, the barracks for the soldiers could serve as a place of concentration of prisoners of war.
JMOB modules
Each of the platforms (military builders call them modules) will, apparently, represent a semi-submarine ship. While traveling to their destination, they will sail. But when they reach the place, they will take ballast to ensure greater resistance to waves. During their construction, the modern experience of creating super-large container cargo supertankers will be useful. American shipbuilders will cope with this task. “You can collect everything even in the Gulf of Mexico,” says Bat Laplante, JMOB project manager.
A spokesman for the Bureau of Naval Development (ONR) said the facility's modular structure would allow a wide variety of aircraft to take off and land. The Bureau was called upon to assess the tactical usefulness of the JMOB project for the Navy and Marine Corps. Some ONR reports claim that the Harrier and F35 aircraft could "operate" even from a single platform. Five modules, lined up in a row, will enable any modern aircraft to take off and land. And this is all just from the top. And inside itself, the structure will carry a payload.
In a new war, a lot is tied to logistics. This is why JMOB is so popular with military strategists. Today's forecasts show that 3, 5 thousand vehicles, 5 thousand cargo containers and 150 aircraft can be accommodated on a 5-module platform. The total construction area will be 0.5 million square meters. m. Of these, more than half (325 thousand sq. m.) will be supplied with conditioned air. The military will be able to store there 300 thousand tons of equipment, 340 million liters of fuel and more than 200 million liters of drinking water. According to ONR estimates, the structure will accommodate an army of 3,000 bayonets.
New design
Dennis Wright is Vice President of Kellogg Brown & Root. His company has unique experience in the construction of deepwater drilling platforms. He believes that the proposed structure will be the greatest achievement of construction thought at sea.
The ONR program sheds light on the structure of the structure. The base will not only be massive, but also so stable that it will be able to receive C-17 cargo aircraft even during a Category 6 storm. Categories range from 0 (complete calm) to 12 (hurricane). Category 6 is characterized by winds of 25 knots (46 km / h) and waves of 5 m.
Experience in the construction of container ships and finely oriented deepwater drilling platforms has helped solve most of the engineering problems. “The technology has proven itself in commercial projects,” says Wright.
However, it takes a lot of work to connect the platforms. And even after that, the problem remains - what to do during a hurricane and just very bad weather?
Since the American army can fight in any weather, the platform must also comply: interference in its functioning is excluded, the landing and disembarkation of troops must be ensured even in storms of category 3. In addition, each structural element must be designed for 40 years.
Until now, no problems have been registered when running the model on a computer, as well as a real model reduced by 16 times.
And even though the US Navy has not yet approved the project, well-informed sources told us that in the next decade about $ 1 billion will be spent on the first blocks of the future design.
