Looks cool. Doubt it will actually do anything other than cruise around for the next 30 or so years, but it looks cool!
You do know that it is Aussie built?
in absolute strength, not even close, for a variety of reasons. aluminum does tend to have a better strength/weight ratio (or more properly, strength/density).
for reference, an aluminum alloy from Kobe Steel holds the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) record at 780 MPa.
alternatively, a classic high strength steel like 4340, which has been around for ages, has a UTS in the area of 1600-1800 MPa.
The 18-Ni maraging steels series can have UTS's in excess of 2000 MPa.
If I were a boat, I'd sex that.
Wait, what does that even mean?
Still wanna sex it though....
aluminum tends to be fairly corrosion resistant by itself due to the formation of a passivating oxide layer almost immediately upon exposure to air.
secondly, the navy has all sorts of coatings, paints, and other material requirements designed to mitigate corrosion as much as possible. it's not like they're just tossing a giant block of aluminum into the ocean and hoping for the best.
I believe you... as I said, if memory serves, it's been a long, LONG time since I dealt with such things. And at the time I was dealing with so many alloys I can't begin to tell you what's what.
That might be important, but I don't really see how all these new toys are justified when we're spending billions of dollars on two wars and running up an ever-increasing deficit. I know that the Navy has been planning this stuff for years, but it still seems silly and completely unnecessary given the problems we're currently facing.
Is a range of 3,500 Nautical miles a lot? It doesn't seem like that much to me but I don't know anything about what a typical ships range is.
would be awesome to see if sea shephard got their hands on one of these
Aluminum doesnt seem like a good material for something that might face small arms fire.
lol
Do you have any idea what you're talking about?
so, what if the enemy just shoot DU or tracer rounds at this aluminium can?
If you can get close enough, just plain HE should do the trick, no need to use DU. But the lcs has a gun, missiles and two helicopters, so getting close enough isn't trivial.
Mmm... Didn't the USS Belknap fire and the Falklands (Malvinas) War show the danger of having a ship superstructure made of aluminium when there's a fire? It conducts heat very well (four times more than steel) and can spread the fire. On the other hand, it's lighter and more rigid than steel, less susceptible to corrosion too.
I like how the video is almost like a commercial. "buy now!"
Er, right, the Phalanx. I can't help but think that, if they programmed it to, it would make a great anti-aircraft cannon.
Its not corrosion that is the main concern, but more on the order of rigid material verses vibration/waves. Another concern is cavitation on traditional high speed & high wave riding design.
Why do we need this exactly?
Not because of the fear of missles, I can guarantee you that. A Battleship is the strongest ship afloat, even now. It'd be the hardest to sink, too.Missiles can solve a lot of problems. Why do you think most battleships are retired? If not all of them.