The US Navy wants 55 of these littoral vessels and Austal has an order for two catamaran troop carriers. If the US Navy does buy/build all of littoral and troop carriers by 2014, Austral will have built 20% of the US Navy’s fleet.
Trimaran power consumption is 20% less when operating in a seaway compared to a catamaran in that area. And reduced by as much as 50% when compared with a monohull operating in waves. All those power reductions equate directly to fuel consumption reductions.
The Austral Trimarans have a speed of 39-40 knots.
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