U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable - Gizmodo Comments

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Blue Oyster Cultist — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:59:01 EDT

@Technogen: It's hull and I didn't say anything about shapped charges. No reason to think the armor on this thing is better than a DD class, but hey, keep fighting that cold war!

Blue Oyster Cultist

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

buttersideup — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:28:44 EDT

Stick a C in front of it and you have the ultimate in stealth technology...nobody would ever find it.

buttersideup

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

albtms — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:32:32 EDT

I could've sworn I saw a whole different page of comments here before refreshing. Anyways, I assume it doesn't have any missiles because like most Navy ships, it will probably be working in a battle group of some sort. This LITTORAL ship, being built for speed, would probably be weighed down quite a bit from missiles and the necessary equipment to store/launch them. It's probably redundant anyways, considering the bigger ships are equipped with Tomahawks of ridiculous range. Defensive and offensive firepower, if needed, would most likely be through the large-caliber guns and helicopters.

Without going into disgusting details, it looks like it could be a versatile ship that can be outfitted in different configurations (as shown), giving combat groups more flexibility and adding an element of speed, which the bigger ships clearly don't have. The helis may make it a candidate for quick-response ground support/shore bombardment as well, countering other countries' large brown/green-water naval capabilities. I'm no military expert but those are just a few things I can come up with.

If that comment about the USS Constitution comes back, well, it's a bad example since it's a wooden ship. Yes, it's still "commissioned" but it's mostly for tradition, heritage, whatever.

Also, there ARE other conflicts besides the one in the middle east, and the navy does do other things besides just sail around on ships.

albtms

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

NikFromNYC — Fri, 09 May 2008 02:46:29 EDT

Wow. Look at the air scoops on this thing. At speed, it doesn't float, but flies. I'm glad one or two of the actual engineers is on this forum. Cost be damned. First airplanes evolved to resemble, almost exactly, sharks and stingrays, since air at supersonic speeds is a hard liquid. Now you are making surface ships fly instead of float. All hail the ground effect of fast moving air. Soon the distinction between boats and planes will be gone. Except that under water is the only place to avoid waves. Oh, that stuff is still classified. But to place airfoils below wave level is the same thing. DARPA doesn't F around. This is a test vehicle from '78. Can't anybody see the WINGS on the hull that lift this whole beast into the air before the ramjets kick in. It's not a boat, you idiots. It's a plane.

NikFromNYC

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

shenanigans61 — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:43:31 EDT

@1roll20s: Hahaha!
Oh, buddy, I can relate.
We go through probably 30-70 freeze/thaw cycles here a winter.
Seriously, in spring, it's like driving through a friggin tank trap on every road until the potholes are filled.

shenanigans61

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Sora-Chan — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:14:19 EDT

Is it me or does that thing look like a Star Destroyer from the front view while on a dry dock?

Sora-Chan

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

ndonahue — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:29:15 EDT

To Highlight just a few critical failures (although there are dozens to choose from)

1) A cost saving measure in the original plan called for these ships to be based on existing commercial hulls (in this case, I believe the original design was an Italian ferry) despite the fact that ferry's aren't designed for the stresses or extended evacuation times designed into military grade ships. That redesign wasn't cheap...

2) Design and build were run simultaneously, leading to massive cost overruns as on-the-fly design changes vastly extended the build times

3) High political investment combined with little or no initial government oversight led to "hitting the deadline" trumping all other factors (most notably cost). Best example here is that ships are generally assembled as hull modules (think of them as cross sections of the ship) that are built with all internal components installed before the hull modules are combined to complete the ship.

This gives much greater access to all the little nooks and crannies as well as allowing large equipment to be put in place in one piece.

Once the hull is completed, the time and effort to do work or move components increases exponentially.

In the end, what you see in the picture included in this article is a nice complete hull that's missing a significant percentage of the internal components -- and getting those components in place is going to be a long and costly effort.

The one saving grace here is that while this looks like a bunch of smart people making truly stupid choices, it was actually a bunch of smart people gaming a competitive build system at great cost to tax payers. One can assume that the ultimate contract will lead to a more traditional construction method and more close cost oversight.

ndonahue

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

s0crates82 — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:57:11 EDT

@Skeezix404: @1roll20s:

That may be what they're supposed to be for, but that overused hunk of concrete and tarmac has been beaten up constantly and desperately needs a resurfacing.

s0crates82

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

1roll20s — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:05:34 EDT

Ah you warm-weather people thinking your roads are bad. Sooooooo cute.

1roll20s

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

TOWken22 — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:01:17 EDT

@SigmundTheSeaMonster: Are you talking about Ingrish? I was well versed in this language while living in Japan.

TOWken22

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Lupison — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:46:03 EDT

If I'm not mistaken it was built with stealth technology too, notice the sharp angles, and the same metal on the hull as is on the bombers.

Lupison

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Skeezix404 — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:40:42 EDT

@s0crates82: Why should I pay for new paving on I5? Isn't that what your CA gas taxes pay for?

Skeezix404

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Skeezix404 — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:39:11 EDT

@N@tedog: How could I see it if it was invisible?

Skeezix404

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Skeezix404 — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:38:16 EDT

@N@tedog: Wrong ship - the ship in TND is this one >
www.angelfire.com/.../images/StealthShip.JPG

Skeezix404

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Thrillcekr — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:37:39 EDT

@Super_Moose: Predatory lenders will be available for financing. For the first 5 years your monthly payment will only be 1 dollar a month. After that it balloons to a meager 10 million a month (99.999999999% of it goes to interest) for the next 2000 years. Interested? Good. Let's start the paper work. Don't worry about the credit check. Approval guaranteed before your free coffee gets cold.

Thrillcekr

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Skeezix404 — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:32:35 EDT

@Fuzzysmith: Yeah - the NY Times people are exactly the people that I would select to build ships to defend my country.

Skeezix404

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

N@tedog — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:29:29 EDT

@sansovino: No you saw it in Tomorrow Never Dies as the invisible boat.

N@tedog

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

FinalValgas — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:08:25 EDT

Nobody told you that this thing could actually fly?

FinalValgas

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Bitstuff — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:04:22 EDT

Oh hey, look at that, the U.S. government spending yet more money that they don't have! How wonderful, I wish MY credit card had a limit in trillions!

Bitstuff

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

UtahJ — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:30:14 EDT

Yeah... I knew it looked familiar.

[americancivilwar.com]

UtahJ

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

sansovino — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:26:00 EDT

Does anyone else look at that and think our Pentagon guys are just 8 year olds with BILLIONS of dollars to spend?

Didn't I see that ship as a GI Joe toy?

sansovino

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

SigmundTheSeaMonster — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:11:35 EDT

@FredicvsMaximvs: Oh man. Yeah, I think it would benefit many to speak Anglo-Asian (A mish mash of...).

Can one person drive and fire this ship?
Will we get to use one in Call Of Duty 6?

SigmundTheSeaMonster

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

ppiddy — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:55:03 EDT

Is that $200M out the door, or do I pay extra to equip it with all the electronics, engines, etc?

ppiddy

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

phantam — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:49:54 EDT

no one notices that this entire big ass navy ship is cheaper than 1 single f22 ?

phantam

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

bms — Thu, 08 May 2008 07:56:09 EDT

@MrBlahBlah: Yes, it was. It was a ship built/designed by Lockheed and costs ~2.5x this one.

bms

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Captain_Awesome — Thu, 08 May 2008 06:34:12 EDT

It looks like a hawk helmet from some game.

Captain_Awesome

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Fuzzysmith — Thu, 08 May 2008 01:39:38 EDT

@MrBlahBlah: The article talks about both ships, the Independence and Freedom. OT - Weren't those the two names of the shuttles in Armageddon?

Fuzzysmith

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

EQC — Thu, 08 May 2008 01:13:15 EDT

60 knots is nothing. seaQuest DSV got close to 200 knots and that was just a submarine built for a freaking TV show over 15 years ago!

EQC

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Zugzwang — Thu, 08 May 2008 00:34:33 EDT

Foreign nations must love this.

Who needs intelligence gathering agencies anyways. Just simpler to go online to tap the egos of the firms and engineers who designed this.

Hell, how often do you see Russian designs so boldly advertised online.

Zugzwang

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

TheDeadPuppet — Thu, 08 May 2008 00:16:03 EDT

@Technogen: Please tell me you were cracking a joke about the 'haul'. The hull/superstructure is angled to deflect/dissapate radar.
@Marcelo: Yes. We do need a good Navy. At last count, Navy had more satellites being used for comms/imaging than any other branch. Oh, and them fancy jets that were in theater first? yeah. Those were Navy. Lastly, let's not forget that the Navy is augmenting the ground troops over there, too.

textbooks. indeed.

TheDeadPuppet

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

FredicvsMaximvs — Thu, 08 May 2008 00:05:37 EDT

@Razta: You're going to up speaking Chinese anyway.

FredicvsMaximvs

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Iggy — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:44:07 EDT

That's sexy. I worked on the Freedom Of The Seas and that fucker was 600 million. Mmmmm

Iggy

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

shenanigans61 — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:42:46 EDT

Wait...wait wait...there must be some weird glitch with the Giz right now. The Zune picture is heading this article, and I see that your avatar is still yours in your profile...weird.

shenanigans61

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

shenanigans61 — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:41:42 EDT

@Pope John Peeps II: Is there any particular reason that your avatar is mine...?

shenanigans61

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Upsilon — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:34:43 EDT

Okay, so when are they going to build the half-submerged death star to dock this leviathan in?

Upsilon

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

GiltProto — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:24:01 EDT

I like the recreational rock climbing wall all around the entire thing.

GiltProto

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

theeraserhead — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:21:30 EDT

Spending? We spend more on health than we do on military. Want to save money? How about losing some weight? How about closing all the wasteful goverment programs that few people benefit from? I have no problem having my tax dollars used to defend our country and get rid of facists. Actually, that's what my tax should be used for.

theeraserhead

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

theeraserhead — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:13:27 EDT

It's money well spent. A lot of things the military develops eventually benefits us such as GPS, computers, internet, freeways, submarines, jet engines, satellites, etc. The military is progress and it encourages Americans to be more talented/educated cause there is high demand in innovation and protect the country at the same time.

theeraserhead

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Pope John Peeps II — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:07:03 EDT

Fucking General Dynamics.

They are one of the creepiest, most tentacled organizations in the world. They build everything, are everywhere, basically RUN certain parts of the American and Canadian forces...

Pope John Peeps II

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

HotFootMcCook — Wed, 07 May 2008 22:58:33 EDT

This just screams super-evil takeover.

Kinda.

HotFootMcCook

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

craig — Wed, 07 May 2008 22:34:31 EDT

Is it just me, or does anyone else think our military has been watching too much Star Wars?

[www.blueharvest.net]

craig

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

shenanigans61 — Wed, 07 May 2008 22:26:55 EDT

**Gadgetgasm**

Meloves military gadgets...

shenanigans61

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

frigg — Wed, 07 May 2008 22:11:20 EDT

$208 million? Pfft. I'll wait for PsyStar to start selling them for a cool 125k.

frigg

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

peterlarson233 — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:58:42 EDT

from what i hear they deflect radar pretty well too

peterlarson233

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

johnnyabnormal — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:54:58 EDT

(Former Corporate Drone, Dishonorable Discharge 2001)

johnnyabnormal

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

DemolitionMan — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:49:15 EDT

[en.wikipedia.org]

Besides the stunning treatment given by Eric Harry in his book Invasion, this would be a good addition to our forces...that, and submersible aircraft carriers

DemolitionMan

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

srw — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:32:25 EDT

I am pretty sure attacking a man while he on "the throne" is against the Geneva convention.. and if not it should be.

srw

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

PR-0927 — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:14:49 EDT

I don't know about anyone else, but that main picture reminded me of the main boss in Crysis.

- PR-0927

PR-0927

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:10:25 EDT

@soldstatic: I think you should ask CODIFEROUS what that is.

shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

soldstatic — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:03:14 EDT

Dude!! DID ANY OF YOU NOTICE THIS HAS A *DETACHABLE* SUBMARINE IN THE MIDDLE!?!??!?!!!1!!ONE!

soldstatic

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

sqeakytoy of the apocalypse — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:51:50 EDT

the amazing thing is that we are this far down the page and not a single commenter has slapled a "C" on the front of that guy....

sqeakytoy of the apocalypse

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

johnnyabnormal — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:47:15 EDT

@SirNirian: Chinese loans at work... *flushes toilet*

johnnyabnormal

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

decrescendo — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:45:09 EDT

For those who do not work in Navy acquisitions, this ship is basically fucked up beyond belief.

It is grossly overweight. Mission-critical components are going to have to be left off of this ship for it to perform anything like advertised.

Secondly, its so far over budget that supposedly it will be killed if McCain wins (apparently he has said this). All the Naval officers I work with daily mention this all the time.

I work with some of the systems that will be put onto this ship in mission modules and basically we are testing something for a ship that probably won't even exist.

Naval acquisitions are pretty fucked up, boys and girls.

decrescendo

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

SirNirian — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:42:24 EDT

lol taxpayers money at work.nough said.

SirNirian

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

icelight — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:41:05 EDT

@roomwithaview: The criticisms, however, were more about the financial and acquisition aspects, rather than its technical capabilities.

icelight

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Mandatory_Field — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:35:15 EDT

Sounds like these Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) have been built for Figurative Usage (FU).

Mandatory_Field

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Super_Moose — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:33:50 EDT

Where can I put a down payment? I've been meaning to get a new yacht.

Super_Moose

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Technogen — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:30:32 EDT

@Epaminondas: The speedboat gets blown up and the destroyer laughs. The haul is made to deflect shaped charges.

Technogen

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

roomwithaview — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:28:31 EDT

@Fuzzysmith: You beat me to it. That NYT article was the first thing that came to mind when I saw that picture and read the headline.

@MrBlahBlah: While the other ship (Freedom) is featured in the NYT article, the article is equally critical of the General Dynamics design. "Even though General Dynamics had more time to digest the Navy's design changes before starting construction, its ship [the Independence] ran into many of the same problems and delays as Lockheed's. The price tag also more than doubled."

roomwithaview

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

i_prefer_sasquatch — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:27:14 EDT

pfffft,

without a Yamato-class Wave Motion Gun, this ship will never be the savior of mankind.

i_prefer_sasquatch

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

mariogalaxyman — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:26:51 EDT

That awesome piece of metal looks like it's about to take off and kill some alien terrorists.

mariogalaxyman

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Blue Oyster Cultist — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:25:43 EDT

Yeah but what happens when someone pulls a TNT ladden speed boat up next to it?

Blue Oyster Cultist

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

DustyButt — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:20:21 EDT

(Former CW3, Honorable Discharge 2004)

DustyButt

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Stang70Fastback — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:19:57 EDT

Wow... battleships have been getting uglier and uglier, and less menacing over the years...

...kinda sad almost.

Stang70Fastback

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

DustyButt — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:18:49 EDT

I bet that 60kts is a lowball.

Rock on Navy. Rock on.

@Marcelo: It's called "projection of power". Al Quaeda isn't the only team in town.

DustyButt

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

newgalactic — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:17:27 EDT

I don't think the $208 Million price-tag is the actual cost. That may be the cost minus development overruns. But this whole project has been famous in its mismanagement.

...Silly looking ship. Feeble attempt by an obsolete Navy Dept. to remain relevant. We really need to unhitch our economy from this run-away Military Industrial Complex.

(Former FC2, Honorable Discharge - 1999)

newgalactic

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

ab3 — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:02:01 EDT

Ok first of all 60 knots is about 70 mph and thats nuts. Its amazing what these new hulls can accomplish. And by comparison an F/A 22 Rapter costs about $125 million and a B2 bomber costs about $2 billion. Dang this is quite a bargin.

ab3

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Marcelo — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:56:36 EDT

Well, that will be useful in the fight against Al Qaeda. As I always say, when fighting radical terrorists in the desert sands, you need a good....navy?

*sigh* How many educational textbooks, indeed.

Marcelo

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Atlantys — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:54:40 EDT

@shamoononon:
Because this poster hanging by my desk [www.globalsecurity.org]
is clearly a security breach

Atlantys

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

GIZisGOD — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:52:23 EDT

@Kaiser-Machead: OH MAN! Perfect.

Imagine sailing this thing towards the enemy with FU-2 or FU-4 on the side.

GIZisGOD

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Jim (The Canuck One) — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:48:24 EDT

I think I know what they're doing with the old ships.

Jim (The Canuck One)

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Unseelie23 — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:46:36 EDT

"The report details such projects as the Navy's $5.2 billion Littoral Combat Ship, which has had such extensive troubles that the service expects the cost of its first two ships to exceed their combined budget of $472 million by more than 100 percent. The Navy canceled construction of the planned third and fourth ships by Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics, the prime contractors on the project."

Unseelie23

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy! — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:45:55 EDT

The FU-Boat.

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

discounteggroll — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:45:30 EDT

"remember men, we're stationed in ITCHY Hull"

discounteggroll

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

MobileEMP — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:43:12 EDT

Oh my god. It looks like Die Another Day got it right. Look out for mysterious stealth ships that cause global panic and disruption.

P.S. Where's the Fox News logo?

MobileEMP

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:43:07 EDT

@Atlantys: That's a security breach right there. :: scoffs ::

shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

FThorn — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:42:55 EDT

It protects your life to be able to read the books. Simple. Ask the Tibetans.

FThorn

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

pixelstacker — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:40:01 EDT

@Fuzzysmith: The times article is about Lockheeds failure to convert a mini cruise ship into a Navy Ship. This boat is actually designed from the ground up to be a Navy Ship.

@TheGeektoriousBIG: Just logging in to pick some up...

pixelstacker

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Atlantys — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:39:56 EDT

We have posters of those ships all around the office because we were involved in the designing of them.

Feels good to see concept images put out to sea.

Atlantys

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

MrBlahBlah — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:38:45 EDT

@Fuzzysmith:

wasn't that referring to a different ship?

MrBlahBlah

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

johnnyabnormal — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:38:12 EDT

I wonder how many educational books that ship could buy. Or renewable energy advancement or medical research or infrastructure development/repair or... Oh, nevermind. Just bomb something already.

johnnyabnormal

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:36:23 EDT

"Run by Informix"...blahahaha splat.

shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

TheGeektoriousBIG — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:30:47 EDT

Time to buy some General Dynamic stock.

TheGeektoriousBIG

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

FThorn — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:30:28 EDT

Cool! My dad served on the USS Independence (CVL-22). It got atom-bombed twice. And O'hare (as in Chicago O'hare) was on board for a while, too.

You can see all the good photos at

[www.cvl-22.com]

FThorn

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:30:19 EDT

This ship......in space!

Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

CODIFEROUS — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:29:47 EDT

more like clitoral combat ship.

Sorry, too easy.

CODIFEROUS

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

faslane — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:28:40 EDT

@s0crates82: no shit!!!! That Rules, I'm in SD, but been on the 405, and a bunch of others up there many times, terrible!!!!

Faslane

faslane

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Fuzzysmith — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:28:26 EDT

[www.nytimes.com]

Funny...this thing was just mentioned in the above story from a week ago about how NOT to build a military ship.

Fuzzysmith

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Razta — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:26:42 EDT

I like it...
If we dont build it, we will all speak chinese.

Razta

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:26:27 EDT

If there is one thing i don't mind having my 30+% tax being taken out of my paycheck for it is cool military shit.

shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

workingonyourinvoice — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:25:31 EDT

People will surrender just to make it sail away, ugly ass boat.

workingonyourinvoice

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

whiteknight — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:25:10 EDT

That. Is. Hot!

whiteknight

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

s0crates82 — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:25:00 EDT

Yarp. That boat's scary alright.

Tell ya what, though. Why don't we take only 20, rather than the planned 55, and spend the rest of repaving the goddamned 5 freeway through LA.

s0crates82

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

bobdobbs — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:24:59 EDT

200 mill for that baby? Can I get payments on that? I've got some neighborhood kids pissing me off.

bobdobbs

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Sean Harrington — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:23:59 EDT

Looks like something I'd have made out of Legos, back in the day: lots of angles and HEAVY.

Sean Harrington

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Technogen — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:23:35 EDT

Yes but we would most likely win... and be the only people left on the planet.

Technogen

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

Sean Harrington — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:22:39 EDT

Holy frak, that's an awesomely scary piece of machinery!

Sean Harrington

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

foureight84 — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:19:52 EDT

ah i see our debt is at a low 9.3 trillion. let's buy a couple of hundred of these and go to war with another country pushing the debt to over 10 trillion. hey, why not?

foureight84

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

faslane — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:19:15 EDT

This thing could kill the S#&T out of you!!

Faslane

faslane

U.S.S. Independence: A Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster That is Surprisingly Affordable

JelalTrueshot — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:18:10 EDT

All that stuff and they couldn't fit in one vertical launch tube. Adding standoff cruise missile capability seems like it would be par for the course in this beast's mission profile. Take out enemy radar/artillery installations with cruise missiles as you get your land troops close to the shore and assault. Maybe they assume it will be part of a larger strike force?

JelalTrueshot