Manufacturing line/War ships/Amphibious assault ship
Autonomous · War ships

Amphibious assault ship

A flight deck, a well deck and seventeen hundred troops, carried by a ship that runs itself.

Phase 7 · 2033+Concept design
Displacement
≈ 45,000 t
Power
96 MWe integrated electric
Fuel burn
≈ 3.4 t / hr at 12 kn
Ship’s crew
0 · 1,700 troops embarked
I · Blueprint
Side elevation, live systems
DWL257 m length overall8.1 m52 mAA010203040507080910171611121314151806192021Positions are to design scale. Beam 32 m at the waterline, flight deck 36 m wide.The second gas-turbine generator, diesel sets and shaft line sit behind those drawn.
SECTION A–AAT THE WELL DECK, LOOKING FORWARDPLAN · FLIGHT DECKDASHED: WELL DECK AND WATERLINEDWLballastballastmotorsbeam 32 mflight deck 36 m8.1 m05100603257 m36 m100905219 deck spots · 2 deck-edge elevatorswell deck for 2 air-cushion craft
01Propellers × 2, 5 blades, 6.1 mPropulsion
02Rudders & steering gearPropulsion
03Propulsion motors, 2 × 26 MWPropulsion
04Shaft lines & thrust bearingsPropulsion
05Well deck & stern gate — 2 air-cushion landing craftMission decks
06Ballast tanks — trim down by the sternStructure
07Vehicle decks & rampMission decks
08HangarMission decks
09Aircraft elevators × 2Mission decks
10Flight deck — 9 spotsMission decks
11Gas-turbine generator room — 2 × 36 MWPower
12Diesel generator rooms — 4 × 6 MWPower
13Battery room — 10 MWhPower
14Switchboards — 13.8 kV busPower
15Fuel tanks, double bottom — 3,100 tPower
16Aviation fuel tanks — 1,300 tMission decks
17Troop decks & hospital — 1,700 embarkedMission decks
18Uptakes & funnelsPower
19Autonomy coreStructure
20Steel hull, 14 watertight bulkheadsStructure
21Island & sensor mastStructure
II · Power & drivetrain

Two turbines, four diesels, one bus.

The destroyer’s gas-turbine generator gives the sprint; four diesel sets carry the long transits and the hotel load for 1,700 people. Everything feeds one 13.8 kV bus, so the motors, the flight deck and the well deck draw from the same power.

Integrated electric plant — rotating view
Two 36 MW gas-turbine generators at left and two of the four 6 MW diesel sets in front of them feed the 13.8 kV switchboard. A 10 MWh battery sits between the diesel rooms. Two 26 MW motors turn the shafts through thrust bearings to two five-blade propellers.
01Gas-turbine generators — 2 × 36 MW, 3,600 rpm, recuperated
02Diesel generator sets — 4 × 6 MW, 600 rpm (2 shown)
03Switchboard — 13.8 kV AC, 96 MWe, two halves
04Battery — 10 MWh, 20 MW
05Propulsion motors — 2 × 26 MW, 150 rpm
06Thrust bearings & shafts
07Propellers — 2 × 5 blades, 6.1 m
08Cruise — 12 kn on diesels, 22 kn on the turbines
Propeller — 5 blades, 6.1 m
Power plant · IC design2 × 36 MW gas-turbine + 4 × 6 MW diesel generators
Shaft output2 × 26 MW at 150 rpm, 1.655 MN·m each
FuelSynthetic marine diesel
Consumption≈ 3.4 t / hr at 12 kn
Metal content≈ 90% of lightship
Naked drivetrain — energy to motion
III · Armament

The embarked force carries the offense. The ship defends itself.

The ship’s own weapons are all defensive: Sea Sparrow and rolling-airframe missiles, Phalanx, twin .50 cal mounts and hovering decoys, split between bow, island and stern. Strike weapons belong to the embarked aircraft and troops. With no ship’s crew, nothing is reloaded at sea: launcher canisters, gun drums and ammunition cans are refilled in port or at replenishment. Self-defense runs in a mode a person has approved; every other release stays with the embarked commander.

All systems stowed
2 × Mk 29 · 2 × Mk 49 RAM · 2 × Mk 15 Phalanx · 7 twin .50 cal · decoy launchers · no ship’s crew: reloads in port or at replenishment (IC design)
Launchers and mounts
Launcher or mountCountCells or roundsRange classReload
Mk 29 launcher, Evolved Sea Sparrow28 cells, one missile eachShort to medium (about 50 km class)Sealed canisters swapped at replenishment (IC design)
Mk 49 launcher, Rolling Airframe Missile221 cells, one missile eachShort (about 10 km class)One round per cell, in port or at replenishment (IC design)
Mk 15 Phalanx close-in gun21,550-round drum, about 20 s of fireVery shortDrum refilled in port or at replenishment (IC design)
Twin .50 cal mounts, remotely laid (IC design)7Belts from cans on the mountVery shortCans swapped in port or at replenishment
Decoy launchersCount not publishedOne sealed canister per decoyDraws a missile awayCanisters swapped in port or at replenishment
Torpedo defenseTowed decoy onlyNone: no hard-kill weaponDraws a torpedo awayNot applicable
Compatible munitions
Air defense
Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (Mk 29)In service
Rolling Airframe Missile Block 2 (Mk 49)In service
AIM-9X and AIM-120, from STOVL fightersIn service
Strike
JDAM and Paveway guidance-kit bombsIn service
GBU-53/B small glide bomb on the STOVL fighterIn development
25 mm gun pod, STOVL fighterIn service
Anti-ship
AGM-158C LRASM on the F-35 familyIn development
AGM-114 Hellfire and AGM-179 JAGM, helicoptersIn service
Guns and counter-drone
Mk 15 Phalanx 20 mmIn service
Twin .50 cal mountsIn service
APKWS laser-guided rocket, helicoptersIn service
Marine vehicle-mounted counter-drone system, parked on deckIn service
High-power microwave counter-droneIn development
Decoys
Mk 53 hovering decoyIn service
AN/SLQ-25 towed torpedo decoyIn service
Systems are named by US Navy designation. Mount positions are not published and are shown for illustration; sequences follow public descriptions at animation pace, with threat speeds and ranges shortened to fit the frame. The embarked troops are passengers and do not handle ship weapons. Sources and checks are listed in BUILD_NOTES.md.
IV · How it is put together

Grand blocks from midships, island in two lifts.

Over two hundred steel units are erected into grand blocks starting at midships, the well deck stays open at the stern, and the island lands in two lifts. The last ship delivered took about six years from keel to delivery.

Over two hundred steel units are built; erection starts with the midship section.
Grand blocks raise the hull around the well deck and ballast tanks.
Tested generator sets, motors and the battery drop into the open machinery rooms.
Hangar and flight deck close the hull; stern gate and island go on.
Translation cars roll the ship onto a floating dock, which lowers it.
I
Units built, erection starts midships
II
Grand blocks and well deck
III
Generators, motors and battery in
IV
Flight deck, stern gate, island
V
Rolled to dock, floated, trialled
V · Specification

Design specification.

Design values for the amphibious assault ship. Every figure matches the drawings, the power unit and the compute panel on this page.

Length overall
257 m
Beam
32 m · flight deck 36 m
Draft
8.1 m
Displacement
≈ 45,000 t
Embarked force
≈ 1,700 troops
Air group
9 deck spots · 20 in the hangar
Well deck
2 air-cushion landing craft
Consumption
≈ 3.4 t / hr at 12 kn
Power plant
2 × 36 MW gas-turbine + 4 × 6 MW diesel generators
Electric bus
96 MWe · 13.8 kV
Energy storage
Battery, 10 MWh, 20 MW
Propulsion
2 × 26 MW motors, 2 shafts
Speed
22 kn top · 12 kn on diesels
Range
10,000 nm at 12 kn · ≈ 3,100 t fuel
Metal content
≈ 90% of lightship
Ship’s crew
0
Onboard compute
Ten AI modules in two racks; the landing plan stays with people
Modules10 heavy AI modules in 2 mirrored racks (navigation 2; perception 2; flight-deck operations 2; well deck, vehicles & cargo 2; engineering & power 2) + 4 certified safety controllers; combat systems are separate
CPU160 cores (10 × 16) + 4 lockstep real-time cores per module
AI throughput50,000 TOPS (10 × 5,000, INT8 / FP4 sparse)
Memory10 × 128 GB LPDDR6, 600 GB/s per module
Power draw1.05 kW compute; ≈ 2.4 kW with 90 cameras, 8 lidars and 3 navigation radars — 0.003% of the 96 MWe plant
Process node2 nm-class SoCs; safety controllers on a mature 16 nm node, 15-year supply; compute is a line-replaceable unit, swapped at mid-life
RedundancyTwo racks in separate compartments. Every sensor is wired to both racks. Each module is primary for its zone and hot standby for its twin in the other rack. A software fault can never drive the ship outside its certified safe envelope.
Safety channel4 × SIL 3 controllers with their own sensors: shaft encoders, rudder-angle sensors, turbine and diesel overspeed trips, stern-gate and ballast-level switches, fire and flood detectors, deck-edge safety lidars and a safety-rated collision radar
Sensors90 cameras (60 visible 4K, 30 thermal) over the flight deck, well deck, vehicle decks and hull on automotive Ethernet through camera aggregation switches; 8 lidars, 3 navigation radars, AIS, 6,000 plant sensors
DrivesMotor drives close their own current loop at 1 kHz; the modules send speed and rudder set-points at 10 Hz
LinkProtected satellite and line-of-sight links to the fleet; a local mesh to the landing craft and aircraft; the plan is aboard, so a lost link changes nothing
The ship sails, flies its deck and runs its well deck by itself. The embarked commander owns the landing plan and every weapon; the ship answers to that commander, and the troops ride as passengers with their own medical team.
Today vs IC
Amphibious assault ships today beside the IC design
Today · big-deck amphibious shipIC design
Prime movers2 gas turbines, ≈ 70,000 shp (≈ 52 MW) through reduction gears, plus 2 auxiliary motors of ≈ 5,000 hp fed by ship-service diesel generators2 × 36 MW gas-turbine + 4 × 6 MW diesel generators on one 13.8 kV bus; 10 MWh battery
DriveHybrid: gears at speed, auxiliary motors at low speedIntegrated electric: 2 × 26 MW motors on 2 shafts at every speed
Size and speed≈ 44,000–45,700 t, 257 m; 20+ kn≈ 45,000 t, 257 m; 22 kn
People aboard≈ 1,050–1,100 ship’s crew plus ≈ 1,600–1,700 troopsNo ship’s crew; ≈ 1,700 troops embarked
Well deckNone on the first two ships; 2 air-cushion landing craft from the third2 autonomous air-cushion landing craft
AviationCrewed air wing; about 20 short-takeoff jets in one configurationAutonomous air group: 9 deck spots, 20 aircraft in the hangar
The IC column is the design shown on this page. Sources for the Today column are listed in BUILD_NOTES.md.
Runs on The Brain
The Brain plans the landing with this ship in it: aircraft sorties, landing-craft runs and the vehicle load order, mirrored in the fleet’s digital twin and re-planned the moment the beach or the weather changes.
See how it works →
Continue
Large unmanned surface vessel →← Frigate