M80 Stiletto
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The M-80 Stiletto is a prototype naval ship manufactured by the M Ship Company as an operational experiment for the Pentagon’s Office of Force Transformation. It is an example of the next generation of military vessels that combines new materials (carbon fiber), with a networked architecture and a breakthrough hull design.
The M80 Stiletto initiative is part of OFT’s Wolf PAC Distributed Operations Experiment, conducted in association with USSOCOM, to explore command and control of geographically dispersed, but networked, autonomous and semi-autonomous military forces. This new concept of operations by the U.S. Department of Defense is in response to diffuse threats that are perceived as emerging in the future.
The M80 Stiletto and Wolf PAC operational experiment was USN (ret) Vice Admiral Arthur Cebrowski’s vision for a more adaptive force using high numbers of smaller, faster networked vessels designed for littoral, or near shore, waters and costing less to build than conventional ships. The new Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC), announced in January 2006, that it is, in effect, implementing the vice admiral’s vision for expeditionary combat in the 21st century.
“We are confident that the M80 Stiletto’s design is superior to all other existing technologies. Nothing else is out there that can achieve the qualities important to brown-water vessels at a relatively low cost with short design and production cycles,” said Chuck Robinson, co-founder of San Diego-based M Ship Co. and a former deputy secretary of state with Henry Kissinger.
The 88-foot long vessel marks a breakthrough in naval architecture, featuring M Ship Co.’s patented M-shaped hull that provides a stable yet fast platform for mounting electronic surveillance equipment or weapons, or for conducting special operations. The hull design does not require foils or lifting devices to achieve a smooth ride at high speeds in rough conditions. Its shallow draft means the M80 Stiletto can operate in littoral (near shore) and riverine environments and potentially allows for beach landings.
The fuel-efficient M80 Stiletto is equipped with four 1,650 hp engines manufactured by the Caterpillar Company, yielding a top speed in excess of 50 knots (nearly 60 miles per hour) and a range of 500 nautical miles when fully loaded. It can be outfitted with jet drives for shallow water operations and beaching.
It has a topside flight deck for launching and retrieving UAVs and a rear ramp that can launch and recover an 11-meter rigid-hull inflatable boat (RIB) or unmanned underwater vessels (UUV).
Weighing only 45 tons unloaded, the vessel is light enough that it can be hoisted onto a cargo ship, while still able to carry up to 20 tons of cargo in the 2,000 square feet of usable interior space. The ship is 88.6 feet in length, with a width of 40 feet and a height of 18.5 feet, yet has a draft of only 2.5 feet.
“The M-hull form creates a natural surface effect that not only enhances top-speed performance, but uses the bow wave energy to reduce the overall wake signature,” said Bill Burns, co-founder of M Ship Co., noting that the military is also interested in 40- and 120-foot vessels of a similar design. “This makes the boat faster and more maneuverable because it remains flat, with almost no heeling, even during high-speed turns. The vessel’s proprietary design also gives it a low-radar profile.”
The M80 Stiletto is the largest U.S. Naval vessel built using carbon-fiber composite and epoxy building techniques, which yields a very light but strong hull. M Ship Co. leveraged its network of collaborative partners and subcontractors to build the M80 Stiletto in less than one year, with a base cost of roughly $6 million, while a fully equipped boat would be in the $10 million range.
M Ship Co. is in discussions with several major defense contractors to capitalize on the success of the M-hull technology for the emerging military market for vessels that can operate in alignment with the NECC’s new focus on “brown water” operations.
Historically, ships have evolved to become narrower and deeper to achieve speed and stability. The M Hull® represents a true breakthrough because its distinctively wide hull captures the vessel’s bow wave and redirects the energy under the hull. The Stiletto’s double-M hull enables the craft to achieve an unequaled ride in rough seas at high speed, which is critical for the Navy SEALS and other Special Operations Forces, because it reduces the G-forces and related injuries these personnel are subjected to during training and on missions.
According to Capt. Neil Parrott, Stiletto Project Action Officer for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, nearly one-third of SEALs are retired medically by their tenth year of service because of the repetitive G-force shock on their bodies. SEAL teams routinely endure 15- to 25-mile trips through rough seas aboard their V-hulled boats and 11-meter RIBs, which can cause a variety of injuries to the spine, internal organs and extremities.
The Stiletto is being tested by the United States Navy SEALs and may go into service with the SEALs.
In 2006 and 2007, the Stiletto participated in Trident Warrior exercises, as well as a number of other naval exercises. This included three days of mine-clearing experimentation during Exercise Howler in 2006, when the vessel was operated by the Naval Special Clearance Team-1 (NSCT-1) from the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado.
A key feature of this vessel is that it can set up a network between a special forces team by launching an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that relays information between the team and boat. The Stiletto can also carry surveillance UAVs to provide reconnaissance for the SEAL team, and, using a clustered supercomputer on board, will be able to send real-time images to the team on shore.
The Stiletto was selected by Time magazine as one of the Best Inventions of 2006 and one of two inventions in the Armed Forces category. And San Diego-based CONNECT named the M80 Stiletto as the Most Innovative New Product for 2006 in the General Technology category.
M Ship Co. LLC is an award-winning maritime design firm formed to develop the innovative M-hull technology. M Ship Co. creates and develops transformational solutions for the maritime industry.
