[dragoon500ly]

The Navy’s response to Secretary Rumsfeld’s 10-30-30 strategy will be centered in large part on Admiral Clark’s sea basing concept. Derived in part from the Maritime Prepositioning Ships (MPS) initiated in the early 1980s, the plan provides for a large operating base that can be established rapidly (within 10 days) in a forward area, some 25-100 miles offshore of the objective.

This sea base will consist of Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF) ships and, most likely, amphibious and replenishment ships. It will not be centered on “floating islands” or the Mobile Offshore Base Systems (MOBS), although some proponents in the Department of Defense and industry continue to propose the latter. Indeed, there are promoters of a sea base large enough to support operations by C-130 and C-17 cargo aircraft.
The MPF ships will differ greatly from current MPS ships in that they will be larger and will:

1) have facilities for troops to come aboard at sea, be berthed, and “marry up” with their equipment.

2) be able to put those troops ashore in a combat environment.

3) provide command and control, medical and resupply functions.

4) remark troops after the operation for rehabilitation and the reconditioning or replacement of their equipment, with additional supplies and equipment brought on board.

5) move with the sea base to another location, with the embarked forces ready for combat within 30 days.

Thus MPF ships will be more complex (and more expensive) than the MPS ships.

Although MPS ships will not be capable of operating C-130 conventional aircraft; a variety of fixed-wing Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft, including AV-8B Harriers and MV-22 Ospreys, as well as helicopters, will operate from the sea base. Hopefully, the potential for eventual operations of larger VTSOL aircraft, including a Bell quad-rotor aircraft that could be the size of a later Hercules, will be incorporated into the MPF design.