LMCS Capabilities: Offloading Military Vessels and Possible Disaster Applications

LMCS Capabilities: Offloading Military Vessels and Possible Disaster Applications

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An LMCS is deployed off the MG Charles P. Gross LSV-5 during a September 2008 demonstration in Oahu. The demonstration showed the capability and versatility of the LMCS, its rapid deployment and retrieval, and use of the system with real traffic. (Photo courtesy of ERDC.)

The Lightweight Modular Causeway System (LMCS) is answering the challenge for a lightweight, easily transportable, and deployable system to facilitate equipment movement from new U.S. Army and U.S. Navy vessels into theater where ports may be inadequate or damaged. LMCS is also providing future capabilities for wet gap crossings for military operations and disaster response.

DOD has had a requirement for vessels to conduct autonomous offloading operations at austere sites—locations without world-class port infrastructure—for years. However, the current Army causeway system does not fit the rapidly deployable force projection requirements of our armed services. It is heavy and requires large, slow, deep-draft vessels with cranes to deploy; tugs are required to assist emplacement; and extensive time (1 day) and manpower (more than 100 Soldiers) are needed to operationally deploy.

ERDC conceived, designed, manufactured, shore tested, installed, and ship tested the LMCS emplacement and recovery apparatus in just 6 months.

The LMCS, being developed by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), is a floating, rapidly deployed causeway that is being designed specifically to be transported and deployed by the Army’s and Navy’s new Joint High-Speed Vessels (JHSVs). LMCS is also readily adaptable for many smaller vessels, such as the Logistics Support Vessel (LSV). The LMCS is also being designed for air transport and emplacement (helicopter) as well as ground transport and emplacement from land, if necessary, using material handling equipment or similar assets.

The LMCS was developed under the Joint Enable Theater Access-Sea Ports of Debarkation (JETA-SPOD) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD), which began in 2006. The LMCS research team not only featured experts from ERDC in Vicksburg, MS, but also contractor support from some of the top names in industry: Alion Science and Technology, Booz Allen Hamilton, Demaree Inflatable Boats, Oceaneering International Inc., and Quantum Engineering Design Inc. For its efforts, the LMCS program received the Defense Logistics 2008 Award for Technology Implementation of the Year.

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Pictured is a concept image of external airlift of one LMCS section by helicopter. (Photo courtesy of ERDC.)
InnovationsThe new LMCS represents many groundbreaking capabilities and advances. It only weighs about 3 tons per 10-foot module, emplacement requires one rigid hull inflatable boat, and it was recently shown that as few as seven Soldiers can deploy 120 feet of the system in about 3 hours. In its unladen state, the LMCS requires less than 12 inches of water depth and is capable of Military Load Class 70 (main battle tank) traffic. With its minimal operational requirements, the LMCS will be functional as an organic theater early entry asset.
Many innovations were applied to the system. ERDC conceived, designed, manufactured, shore tested, installed, and ship tested the LMCS emplacement and recovery apparatus in just 6 months. To minimize weight, after exploring the application of existing 350-pound steel cylinders to inflate the LMCS flotation, engineers used carbon-fiber spun compressed gas cylinders developed for the paintball industry and firefighting equipment, which weigh only 40 pounds.

A critical core technology for the LMCS was the development of a new double compressive joint based on high durometer urethane elastomers that provide dependable repetitive compliance with minimal fatigue. These joints, using materials similar to those used to buffer building motions during earthquakes, help the LMCS support the large weight requirements of the M1A2 main battle tank and are key elements of LMCS durability. (Scale model tests indicate that the unladen LMCS should be survivable in 20 foot waves.) Improvements are being made to the elastomer connection to increase versatility and ease of emplacement.

CompatibilityWhile being developed to support the expanded capabilities of the new JHSV, the LMCS is designed to be compatible with other existing U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps watercraft. “The LMCS will enhance the capabilities of the JHSV. This vessel represents a big step forward in the military’s ability to access smaller ports around the world, primarily because of its significantly reduced draft and abilities to operate and maneuver at higher speeds,” stated Dr. Jimmy E. Fowler, Associate Technical Director in ERDC’s Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory. “The LMCS is being designed so that it can be transported and deployed from the vessel in situations where pierside depth at an existing port is insufficient.”

Highly successful demonstrations of the full-scale LMCS were conducted in June 2008 at Fort Eustis, VA, and in September 2008 at Oahu, HI. An LSV was used as the marine platform, and the LMCS successfully supported traffic by both military and commercial vehicles. The versatility of the LMCS was also shown at a bare beach site during the Fort Eustis demonstration. By partially deflating some of the pneumatic tubes on the shoreward side of the LMCS, the small deployment crew was able to increase the penetration of the causeway onto the shore. This capability also allows the LMCS to conform to existing bottom slope on the beach and limits extensive beach or shore preparation requirements.

This vessel represents a big step forward in the military’s ability to access smaller ports around the world, primarily because of its significantly reduced draft and abilities to operate and maneuver at higher speeds.

The ACTD in Hawaii was supported by the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) through its role as the operational manager. “The LMCS is a perfect example of a successful JCTD [Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration],” stated MG Stephen Tom, PACOM Chief of Staff, during the demonstration. “Through hard work, dedication, and persistence in overcoming technical and financial challenges, a combined military and civilian team of engineers, watercraft experts, causeway operators, and program managers has delivered a new capability.” The prototype LMCS will be retained by PACOM during the next 2 years for use in the Pacific theater during the extended user evaluation phase. Transition of LMCS to the field forces could occur as early as FY12, which is also the planned widespread fielding of the JHSVs.

The LMCS capabilities are also being enhanced by the companion JETA-SPOD Analysis Tool (JSAT), developed by ERDC to help select port sites and analyze and improve throughput at various sites. JSAT assists with characterization of port sites by building data sets of potential ports or sites, analyzing port operational capacity, and developing a model to support site selection. The small port decision support tool model in JSAT provides a traffic characterization model that models and estimates throughput, identifies bottlenecks, and recommends improvements.

CapabilitiesThe LMCS, coupled with the new JHSVs, will give our armed forces unmatched force projection and sustainment capabilities in coastal environments and austere port areas that previously could not be used for operations. Like many military technologies, these same systems also have great potential for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in areas damaged by hurricanes, tsunamis, other severe weather events, or even earthquakes.

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At a bare beach demonstration at Fort Eustis in June 2008, an LMCS is deployed off Anzio Beach with material handling equipment. (Photo courtesy of ERDC.)

“Although the LMCS was developed primarily for military applications, it also has great potential to be used in support of [Department of] Homeland Security [DHS] efforts,” said Dr. Donald T. Resio, Technical Director, JETA-SPOD ACTD. “It is anticipated that the LMCS could be used to provide a rapidly delivered and emplaced temporary floating bridge. Such a system could have played a strong role in rapidly restoring traffic flow in areas where bridges were destroyed in recent hurricanes, such as Ivan, Katrina, and Ike.”

PACOM recently obtained Air Transportability Certification of the LMCS on both the C-5 and C-17 Air Force transport aircraft. Future demonstrations will be conducted in Hawaii this year, in Alaska in spring 2010, and at a site to be determined in late 2010. These demonstrations will show the mudflat/wet gap crossing capabilities of the LMCS for both military and civilian operations to the U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center, Northern Command, DHS, Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as other agencies or potential users of this new technology. Helicopter emplacement of the LMCS is tentatively planned for the Alaska demonstration, contingent on the availability of appropriate resources.