US Navy in trouble with Philippines

[LordStanley]

Originally Posted by Gilligan

Where have you seen anything that indicates they do want us out...?? What did I miss?

Our cooperation with the Phillipines in the realm of naval matters is extensive and very long-standing.

Not to mention all the Filipinos employed one way or another by the US Navy...

[Gilligan (Premo)]

Originally Posted by LordStanley

Not to mention all the Filipinos employed one way or another by the US Navy...

..and USCG. My grandfather's (RADM) entire household staff was exclusively Filipino guardsmen.

[MMDad]

Originally Posted by Gilligan

The terms fiberglass and composite are very often used interchangeably. Correctly stated, glass-reinforced-plastic (GRP) is the composite overlay. I do not recall any more which resin type was used on the MCM overlay.

The MHC hulls, by comparison, were 100% composite (solid GRP) construction.

The mine countermeasure ships I helped design and build in Sweden and, paricularly, in Norway are foam-cored GRP hulls. The Brits built a bunch of sandwich-GRP minesweeper hulls too...

I get that, but sometimes "composite" is used to indicate carbon fiber. As I suspected, these were not carbon fiber.

[MMDad]

Originally Posted by Gilligan

The terms fiberglass and composite are very often used interchangeably. Correctly stated, glass-reinforced-plastic (GRP) is the composite overlay. I do not recall any more which resin type was used on the MCM overlay.

The MHC hulls, by comparison, were 100% composite (solid GRP) construction.

The mine countermeasure ships I helped design and build in Sweden and, paricularly, in Norway are foam-cored GRP hulls. The Brits built a bunch of sandwich-GRP minesweeper hulls too...

I know that the MHC's are all gone, but the MCM's will be in service for a while still. We just did an upgrade on Guardian, so it can't be too close to decomm.

[Gilligan (Premo)]

Originally Posted by MMDad

I get that, but sometimes "composite" is used to indicate carbon fiber. As I suspected, these were not carbon fiber.

Definitely not. Plain ole GRP.

[Gilligan (Premo)]

Originally Posted by MMDad

I know that the MHC's are all gone, but the MCM's will be in service for a while still. We just did an upgrade on Guardian, so it can't be too close to decomm.

That's good to hear; I had received the deactivation notice for both classes a couple years ago. I suspect that all the delays with LCS production and the not-ready-for-prime-time mine warfare mission "module" for them might have caused some reconsideration. I just learned only yesterday the MH-60 was found to be incable of towing the array that was to be an integral part of the LCS MIW suite. Only CH-53s have the tow grunt necessary and those were not going on LCSs.

*groan*

[GURPS (Premo)]

Originally Posted by Gilligan

Pretty much totalled. The hull was holed in many places apparently...and the fiberglass outer layer is gone over much of the hull (laminated wood hulls on those).

Oh SNAP ....... I did not know that


makes sense in a Mine Sweeper