Mobile offshore base
Encyclopedia
In the defense industry of the United States
, a mobile offshore base — or MOB — is a concept for supporting military operations where conventional land bases are not available. Such a floating offshore base has been researched and proposed, but never developed or realized.
In concept, a MOB is a modular floating base that can be deployed to an area of national defense interest to provide flight, maintenance, supply and other forward logistics support operations. MOB modules will most likely be semisubmersibles which have significantly smaller wave-induced motions compared to conventional hulls.
This modularity supports the widest possible range of air support, ranging from vertical/short takeoff and landing (VSTOL) aircraft using a single module to conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL
) aircraft using several serially aligned modules approaching 2 km (6,000 feet) in length. In addition, a MOB accepts ship-borne cargo, provides nominally 280,000 m² (3 million square feet) for equipment storage and maintenance, stores 40 million litres (10 million gallons) of fuel, houses up to 3,000 troops (an Army heavy brigade), and discharges resources to the shore via a variety of landing craft. The cluster could have an air strip that could hold a large aircraft such as the C-17
.
entered Operation Desert Shield (1990-91). The U.S. was forced to request the use of allied bases, which besides strictly military considerations proved to be politically sensitive
in the case of Saudi Arabia
. With the MOB concept the U.S. could have a base anywhere in the world in as little as a month. The base as conceived would have had virtually unlimited capabilities, and most of its creators did not envision just a floating air strip, but a town-sized base.
The "Joint Mobile Offshore Base" was a MOB concept for expeditionary warfare and humanitarian and commercial operations developed in the late 1990s by McDermott International Inc. of Arlington, Virginia. The JMOB was to be composed of five self-powered units and a one-mile long runway that could accommodate a fully loaded C-17 Globemaster III
. NATO was thought to be interested in the concept at the time.
A report presented to the U.S. Congress in April 2000 identified that such a base was technologically feasible and could be built by United States industry. A further report in 2001 by the Institute for Defense Analyses
concluded that the estimated US$5 billion to US$8 billion was less cost effective than alternate solutions.
Once positioned, the MOB would operate as a base for an extended period, so would need to have port-like facilities for unloading and loading conventional container and Roll On/Roll Off
ships.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, a mobile offshore base — or MOB — is a concept for supporting military operations where conventional land bases are not available. Such a floating offshore base has been researched and proposed, but never developed or realized.
In concept, a MOB is a modular floating base that can be deployed to an area of national defense interest to provide flight, maintenance, supply and other forward logistics support operations. MOB modules will most likely be semisubmersibles which have significantly smaller wave-induced motions compared to conventional hulls.
This modularity supports the widest possible range of air support, ranging from vertical/short takeoff and landing (VSTOL) aircraft using a single module to conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL
CTOL
CTOL is an acronym for conventional take-off and landing, and is the process whereby conventional aircraft take off and land, involving the use of runways. The aircraft will taxi along the runway until its rotation speed is reached, then climb into the air...
) aircraft using several serially aligned modules approaching 2 km (6,000 feet) in length. In addition, a MOB accepts ship-borne cargo, provides nominally 280,000 m² (3 million square feet) for equipment storage and maintenance, stores 40 million litres (10 million gallons) of fuel, houses up to 3,000 troops (an Army heavy brigade), and discharges resources to the shore via a variety of landing craft. The cluster could have an air strip that could hold a large aircraft such as the C-17
C-17 Globemaster III
The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft. Developed for the United States Air Force from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas, the C-17 is used for rapid strategic airlift of troops and cargo to main operating bases or forward operating bases throughout...
.
History
The idea of the MOB was first seriously considered when the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entered Operation Desert Shield (1990-91). The U.S. was forced to request the use of allied bases, which besides strictly military considerations proved to be politically sensitive
United States withdrawal from Saudi Arabia
Beginning during Operation Desert Shield in August 1990, while preparing for the Gulf War, the United States sent a troop contingent to Saudi Arabia. After the war, the troops remained, under Operation Southern Watch....
in the case of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. With the MOB concept the U.S. could have a base anywhere in the world in as little as a month. The base as conceived would have had virtually unlimited capabilities, and most of its creators did not envision just a floating air strip, but a town-sized base.
The "Joint Mobile Offshore Base" was a MOB concept for expeditionary warfare and humanitarian and commercial operations developed in the late 1990s by McDermott International Inc. of Arlington, Virginia. The JMOB was to be composed of five self-powered units and a one-mile long runway that could accommodate a fully loaded C-17 Globemaster III
C-17 Globemaster III
The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft. Developed for the United States Air Force from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas, the C-17 is used for rapid strategic airlift of troops and cargo to main operating bases or forward operating bases throughout...
. NATO was thought to be interested in the concept at the time.
A report presented to the U.S. Congress in April 2000 identified that such a base was technologically feasible and could be built by United States industry. A further report in 2001 by the Institute for Defense Analyses
Institute for Defense Analyses
The Institute for Defense Analyses is a non-profit corporation that administers three federally funded research and development centers to assist the United States government in addressing important national security issues, particularly those requiring scientific and technical expertise...
concluded that the estimated US$5 billion to US$8 billion was less cost effective than alternate solutions.
Once positioned, the MOB would operate as a base for an extended period, so would need to have port-like facilities for unloading and loading conventional container and Roll On/Roll Off
RORO
Roll-on/roll-off ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers or railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels...
ships.
In Fiction
- In the video game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 is a 2008 real-time strategy video game developed by EA Los Angeles and published by Electronic Arts. Announced on February 14, 2008, it was released on October 28, 2008 in the United States for Microsoft Windows-based PCs and three days later in Europe. A version for...
, the Empire faction has a Mobile offshore base called Black Tortoise.
See also
- Unsinkable aircraft carrierUnsinkable aircraft carrierAn unsinkable aircraft carrier is a term sometimes used to refer to a geographical or political island that is utilized to extend the power projection of a military force...
- Military power projection
- Military logisticsMilitary logisticsMilitary logistics is the discipline of planning and carrying out the movement and maintenance of military forces. In its most comprehensive sense, it is those aspects or military operations that deal with:...
- Project HabakkukProject HabakkukProject Habakkuk or Habbakuk was a plan by the British in World War II to construct an aircraft carrier out of pykrete , for use against German U-boats in the mid-Atlantic, which were beyond the flight range of land-based planes at that time.The idea came from Geoffrey Pyke who worked for Combined...
External links
- Mobile Offshore Base - Globalsecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.org, launched in 2000, is a public policy organization focusing on the fields of defense, space exploration, intelligence, weapons of mass destruction and homeland security...