By Geoff Fein
Lockheed Martin [LMT] yesterday showcased a small tactical craft (STC) that it is proposing as both a manned boat for Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and as an unmanned surface vessel for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).
The Common Off Board Reconfigurable Asset (COBRA) is a 39-foot catamaran with a two-and-a-half foot draft built by Lockheed Martin using internal research and development (IRAD) funds, Ronald Harris, director, requirements and customs solutions, told reporters at a briefing in Crystal City.
Lockheed Martin’s IRAD COBRA is an all-aluminum craft built at Armstrong Marine in Port Angeles, Wash.
Eventually the plan is to make COBRA an all-composite boat, Harris said.
COBRA is unique in that it is a modular craft with a removable 5,000-pound module that fits on the back of the craft.
“It was developed as a maritime pick-up truck,” Harris said.
The manned variant, which Lockheed Martin intends to bid for an upcoming competition for the SOCOM Combat Craft Medium (CCM), has a crew of three and can be fitted with a passenger module that can transport a squadron of (13) Marines, Harris noted.
SOCOM issued a draft request for proposal in November for a new vessel to replace its rigid inflatable boats (RIBs)
“We have to modify its dimensions slightly to make it compatible for CCM,” Harris said.
Among the CCM’s requirements are the need for a smaller beam height and the ability to transport via a C-130, he added.
“CCM is the first opportunity we are looking at,” Harris said.
Because COBRA has a semi-swath hull form, it has better sea-keeping than a RIB, Harris noted.
And with a catamaran configuration, COBRA will have superior speed, he added.
“We combined the advantages of both,” Harris said.
But Harris noted that an unmanned COBRA variant would also be ideal for the anti submarine warfare (ASW) or counter mine warfare mission packages planned for LCS.
Harris pointed out that COBRA is the same size as the current ASW unmanned surface vehicle (USV) planned for LCS.
He also acknowledged that the LCS rear ramp would need to be modified to get COBRA in and out of LCS.