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EP-4737302-A1 - LANDING CRAFT HULL

EP4737302A1EP 4737302 A1EP4737302 A1EP 4737302A1EP-4737302-A1

Abstract

A landing craft (10) comprising a hull (100). The hull (100) extends along an x-axis, a first end (102) of the hull (100) and a second end (104) of the hull (100) spaced apart from one another along the x-axis. The hull (100) extends along a y-axis, a first side (106) of the hull (100) and a second side (108) of the hull (100) spaced apart from one another along the y-axis. The hull extends along a z-axis, a base side (110) and a top side (112) of the hull (100) spaced apart from one another along the z-axis. The landing craft (10) further comprises a gyroscopic boat stabiliser (600) fixed to the hull (100) and configured to: sense a change in the landing craft orientation; and apply a force to the hull in response to the change in the landing craft orientation.

Inventors

  • The designation of the inventor has not yet been filed

Assignees

  • BAE SYSTEMS plc

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20241029

Claims (7)

  1. A landing craft comprising a hull wherein: the hull extends along an x-axis, a first end of the hull and a second end of the hull being spaced apart from one another along the x-axis; the hull extends along a y-axis, a first side of the hull and a second side of the hull being spaced apart from one another along the y-axis; the x-axis being at right angles to the y-axis; the hull extends along a z-axis, a base side and a top side of the hull being spaced apart from one another along the z-axis, the z-axis being perpendicular to the x-axis and y-axis; the landing craft further comprising a gyroscopic boat stabiliser fixed to the hull and configured to: sense a change in the landing craft orientation; and apply a force to the hull in response to the change in the orientation of the landing craft.
  2. A landing craft as claimed in claim 1 wherein the hull further comprises a first hull wall assembly spaced apart from a second hull wall assembly in the direction of the y-axis by a deck assembly; the first hull wall assembly comprises a first weapon unit; and/or the second hull wall assembly comprises a second weapon unit; wherein the gyroscopic boat stabiliser is configured to: detect a change in the landing craft orientation due to force induced on the hull by the firing of the or each weapon unit; and apply a force to the hull in response to the change in the landing craft orientation.
  3. A landing craft as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the deck assembly defines a path along the length of the landing craft in the x-axis; and the gyroscopic boat stabiliser is configured to: detect a change in the landing craft orientation due to force induced on the hull by a body travelling along the path; and apply a force to the hull in response to the change in the landing craft orientation.
  4. A landing craft as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the landing craft further comprises a hydrofoil assembly located on the base side of the hull; the hydrofoil assembly comprises a first wing section, wherein the hydrofoil assembly extends from the base side in the direction of the z-axis, and the first wing section extends part, but not all, of the way across the base side in the direction of the y-axis; and the hydrofoil assembly is operable to move between a deployed position (DP) in which the hydrofoil assembly is spaced apart from the base side by a first distance (D1) and a storage position (SP) in which the hydrofoil assembly is located in contact with at least some of the base side and/or spaced apart from the base side by a second distance (D2) which is less than the first distance (D1); and the gyroscopic boat stabiliser and hydrofoil assembly are operable independently of one another such that: the hydrofoil assembly is deployed when the gyroscopic boat stabiliser is operational; the hydrofoil assembly is deployed when the gyroscopic boat stabiliser is non operational; the hydrofoil assembly is in the storage position when the gyroscopic boat stabiliser is operational; the hydrofoil assembly is in the storage position when the gyroscopic boat stabiliser is non operational.
  5. A landing craft as claimed in claim 4 further comprising an interceptor system configured to provide ride stability; the gyroscopic boat stabiliser, hydrofoil assembly and interceptor system are operable independently of one another such that: when the hydrofoil assembly is deployed, the gyroscopic boat stabiliser is operational and the interceptor system is operational; when the hydrofoil assembly is deployed, the gyroscopic boat stabiliser is operational and the interceptor system is non-operational; when the hydrofoil assembly is deployed, the gyroscopic boat stabiliser is non-operational and the interceptor system is non-operational; when the hydrofoil assembly is in the storage position, the gyroscopic boat stabiliser is non-operational and the interceptor system is non-operational; when the hydrofoil assembly is in the storage position, the gyroscopic boat stabiliser is operational and the interceptor system is non-operational; when the hydrofoil assembly is in the storage position, the gyroscopic boat stabiliser is operational and the interceptor system is operational; when the hydrofoil assembly is in the storage position, the gyroscopic boat stabiliser is non-operational and the interceptor system is operational; and/or when the hydrofoil assembly is deployed, the gyroscopic boat stabiliser is non-operational and the interceptor system is operational.
  6. A landing craft as claimed in claim 5 further comprising a control system, the control system operable to control the hydrofoil assembly, the gyroscopic boat stabiliser and/or the interceptor system.
  7. A landing craft as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the interceptor system is located at the second end of the landing craft.

Description

FIELD The present disclosure relates to a landing craft. BACKGROUND Landing craft are watercraft used to travel on water and to travel up a shoreline to convey people and equipment from the water to land. Conventionally landing craft design and functionality is based around the need to be configured to run up onto a shoreline, but may not provide a comfortable/stable ride for passengers. However, as typical journeys from a mother ship to shore are short, the discomfort levels are acceptable. However, there is a need for the journey distance to increase to keep the mother ship further from shore, which means even if the water state was good at the beginning of the journey, it may change during the journey. It is generally the case that passengers in a landing craft need to be able to perform duties as soon as they land, and so a landing craft which provides an unstable ride over a long journey may make a set objective more difficult to achieve. Other operational requirements (for example the firing of weapons and/or the offloading of vehicles from the landing craft) may also be frustrated by conventional landing craft configurations, which may make them difficult to control and keep stable. Hence a landing craft which provides a more stable ride during travel (e.g. to avoid the passengers getting ill) or when stationary (for example receiving and/or offloading equipment) is highly desirable. SUMMARY According to the present disclosure there is provided an apparatus and system as set forth in the appended claims. Other features of the invention will be apparent from the dependent claims, and the description which follows. Accordingly there may be provided a landing craft (10) comprising a hull (100). The hull (100) extends along an x-axis, a first end (102) of the hull (100) and a second end (104) of the hull (100) being spaced apart from one another along the x-axis. The hull (100) may extend along a y-axis, a first side (106) of the hull (100) and a second side (108) of the hull (100) being spaced apart from one another along the y-axis. The x-axis may be at right angles to the y-axis. The hull may extend along a z-axis, a base side (110) and a top side (112) of the hull (100) being spaced apart from one another along the z-axis. The z-axis may be perpendicular to the x-axis and y-axis. The landing craft (10) may comprise a hydrofoil assembly (200) located on the base side (110) of the hull (100). The hydrofoil assembly (200) may comprise a first wing section (202), wherein the hydrofoil assembly (200) extends from the base side (110) in the direction of the z-axis, and the first wing section (202) extends part, but not all, of the way across the base side (110) in the direction of the y-axis. The hydrofoil assembly (200) may be operable to move between a deployed position (DP) in which the hydrofoil assembly (200) is spaced apart from the base side (110) by a first distance (D1) and a storage position (SP) in which the hydrofoil assembly (200) is located in contact with at least some of the base side (110) and/or spaced apart from the base side (110) by a second distance (D2) which is less than the first distance (D1). The hull (100) may be configured such that the landing craft (10) has a first mode of operation in which the watercraft is supported by a fluid. The hull (100) may be configured such that the landing craft (10) has a second mode of operation in which at least part of the lower surface of the hull of the watercraft is engaged with a substrate. The hull (100) may be configured such that the landing craft (10) has a third mode of operation in which the watercraft transitions from the first mode of operation to the second mode of operation. The hull (100) may be configured such that the landing craft (10) has a fourth mode of operation in which the watercraft transitions from the second mode of operation to the first mode of operation. The hydrofoil assembly (200) may be located closer to the first end (102) of the hull (100) than to a mid point between the first end (102) and the second end (104). The hydrofoil assembly (200) may be located closer to the second end (104) of the hull (100) than to a mid point between the first end (102) and the second end (104). The base side (110) of the hull (100) may be substantially flat. The hull (100) may comprise a first hull extension (118) provided on the base side (110) of the hull (100) between the first side (106) of the hull (100) and the second side (108) of the hull (108). The first hull extension (118) may extend in a direction away from the hull (100) in the z-axis and along the base side (110) of the hull (100) along the x-axis at least part of the distance between the first end (102) of the hull (200) and the second end (104) of the hull (100). The hull (100) may comprise a first hull extension (118) provided on the first side (106) of the hull (100) and a second hull extension (120) provided on the second side (108) of the hull (100). The fir