Ships Line
Organic Boats Before Mission Modules
Every TriSeadon combatant must retain useful small-craft capability even when no boat-focused IMM, ISO, or LCB package is installed. The organic baseline therefore provides two multipurpose RHIBs, independent port and starboard garages, and redundant launch-and-recovery paths on every class. Mission modules add capacity; they do not create the ship's first usable boat capability.
Fleet Baseline
Common decision: two RHIBs replace multiple legacy boat types
- Organic inventory: 2 fleet-standard 7-meter multipurpose RHIBs on every FFG, DDG, and CAG, with 1 boat in the port garage and 1 in the starboard garage.
- Motor whaleboat decision: no separate motor-whaleboat hull. The modern RHIB performs rescue, utility, stores transfer, personnel movement, and general seamanship duties.
- Captain's-gig decision: no separate captain's-gig hull on FFG or DDG. Either organic RHIB can be assigned the captain's-gig function when required.
- Core missions: man-overboard and rescue response, boarding and inspection, pilot or harbor transfer, personnel and light-cargo movement, force protection, humanitarian support, and emergency towing or assistance within craft limits.
- Commonality: engines, controls, radios, navigation equipment, lifting points, cradles, fueling connections, spares, and training use one fleet standard wherever practicable.
Class differences
- FFG: two organic RHIBs support rescue, ASW-related recovery, EOD or UDT access, inspection, and limited boarding work without displacing the frigate's acoustic mission.
- DDG: two organic RHIBs support SAR, VBSS, LEDET, maritime interdiction, escort, personnel recovery, and force-protection missions.
- CAG: two organic RHIBs support flagship, QRF, rescue, transfer, and security duties; a separate protected TriSeadon Admiral's Launch (TAL), derived from the RCB/CB90 family, supports state, flag, and senior-leader movement.
Port and Starboard Launch Garages
- Redundancy: one enclosed garage on each side lets the ship select the lee side and preserves a boat capability if battle damage, weather, maintenance, or an obstruction closes the other station.
- Protected handling: shell doors, drainage, ventilation, firefighting, lighting, maintenance access, fueling controls, and secure ready stowage keep boats and crews protected from weather and signatures.
- Integrated recovery: each garage receives a Navy-certified davit, cradle, rail, capture, or equivalent handling system engineered for the selected RHIB and future craft envelope. Final machinery is chosen through seakeeping and human-factors testing rather than fixed by concept art.
- Safe boat preparation: crews can inspect, fuel, equip, arm when authorized, and prepare the craft inside before opening the side door and committing personnel to the weather deck.
- Damage separation: port and starboard systems have separated power, controls, drainage, firefighting, and access routes so one casualty does not disable both boat stations.
- Unmanned compatibility: common cradles, power, data, charging, lifting points, and control links allow either garage to handle compatible USVs or future unmanned craft when the organic RHIB is temporarily relocated.
- Growth margin: garage volume and handling machinery reserve reasonable dimensional, weight, electrical, and control margin for future RHIB replacements and small USVs.
TriSeadon Admiral's Launch (TAL)
The CAG is a flagship with national-command and allied-leader support spaces, so it receives a protected state-transport craft rather than forcing every senior movement into an open RHIB. The program baseline is the TriSeadon Admiral's Launch (TAL): a modified U.S. Navy Riverine Command Boat/Swedish CB90 family design. TAL preserves the proven 16-meter-class hull, twin-diesel waterjets, shallow draft, speed, capacity, ballistic foundation, and weapon-mount structure, then adapts the craft for VIP transport, self-protection, CAG interfaces, and shipboard launch and recovery. It is a protected transfer boat, not a miniature combatant.
- Base platform decision: TAL is an RCB/CB90 derivative, not a clean-sheet boat. Its approximately 16.1-16.3-meter reference hull begins with the U.S. Navy RCB/Swedish CB90 family. The Navy RCB is 53 feet long, carries 4-8 crew and up to 15 passengers, exceeds 40 knots, and has a published range above 250 nautical miles. Open the Navy RCB fact file.
- TriSeadon modification package: replace the troop-oriented interior with a protected VIP cabin and staff/protective-detail seating; integrate CAG-compatible secure communications and data links; add launch-scaled radar, EO/IR, passive EW, chaff and decoys, protected navigation, and counter-drone systems; retain a certified defensive weapon foundation; and add CAG-specific lifting, cradle, fueling, service, and garage interfaces.
- Capacity: approximately 20 people total, including boat crew, principal, protective detail, and staff. This falls within the demonstrated RCB/CB90 family personnel envelope, but the final certified capacity must account for the heavier VIP interior, ballistic protection, electronics, decoys, and mission equipment.
- Propulsion: redundant twin marine diesels driving waterjets, compatible with the fleet fuel policy, with independent steering and electrical support and enough maneuverability for ports, anchorages, rivers, canals, and protected inland waterways.
- Protected passenger cell: enclosed weather protection, ballistic-resistant glazing and panels around the occupied compartment, fire suppression, emergency egress, shock-mitigating seating, climate control, secure communications, navigation, and a medical kit. The interior is arranged for approximately 20 total occupants without separating the principal from the protective detail or blocking emergency egress.
- Radar and visual sensing: compact navigation and surface-search radar, AIS, EO/IR cameras, low-light coverage, and an integrated track display support navigation, small-craft awareness, drone detection, and safe operation in restricted waters. The launch also receives selected tracks and warnings from the CAG through a secure data link.
- Electronic-warfare protection: a launch-scaled passive electronic-support and threat-warning suite detects and classifies relevant emitters without pretending to duplicate the CAG's full EW system. Directional or limited-power electronic countermeasures, protected navigation, secure communications, and GNSS interference warning are used under emission-control and spectrum-management rules.
- Chaff and decoys: compact, Navy-certified soft-kill launchers provide chaff and appropriate multispectral decoys, with safe arcs, protected round stowage, bridge authorization, and automatic cueing limited by rules of engagement.
- Counter-drone layer: radar and EO/IR cueing, passive RF detection, electronic disruption when authorized, maneuver and obscuration, ship-provided warning, and the crew-served weapon station form a layered defense against small UAVs. The launch does not carry Phalanx, a large missile CIWS, or a ship-scale directed-energy system.
- Security fit: a removable, Navy-certified crew-served `.50-cal` mount may be installed when threat and mission rules require it, with protected ammunition stowage and a clear separation between the weapon station and passenger compartment.
- Phalanx exclusion: Mk 15 Phalanx is not suitable. The Block 1B mount alone weighs about 13,600 pounds and also requires substantial structure, electrical power, radar support, ammunition, maintenance access, and safe firing geometry. Open the Navy fact file.
- Use: admiral and staff transfer, presidential or allied-leader movement when directed, secure movement between ship and shore, embassy or diplomatic support, casualty transfer, and controlled extraction from ports or waterways.
- Multi-role doctrine: TAL is not restricted to VIP transport. Its secondary roles are protected mobile command, Swift-boat and RHIB mission coordination, QRF command-element movement, medevac and casualty transfer, noncombatant extraction, recovery support, and limited defensive fire support.
- Assault limit: TAL can command, cover, recover, reinforce, or medically support an insertion, but smaller Swift, RHIB, SOF, or SWCC craft remain the preferred direct-assault and lower-signature insertion boats.
- Limit: the craft is protected against plausible small-craft and transfer threats but is not represented as invulnerable or intended to force entry against prepared shore defenses.
- Shipboard handling requirement: the CAG receives a dedicated TAL garage, shell opening, cradle, and launch/recovery system separate from the standard 7-meter RHIB davits. The Navy RCB's published operational load is approximately 49,000 pounds, so the handling path must be rated above the final fully loaded TAL weight with Navy-required dynamic and safety margins.
- Engineering warning: the existing RCB/CB90 family proves the basic size, speed, protection, capacity, waterjet propulsion, and weapon-mount concept. The VIP interior, radar/EW suite, chaff and decoys, counter-drone system, secure CAG data link, signature control, and side-garage recovery remain a new integration and certification effort.
- Allied reference: Saab's 16.3-meter CB90 Next Generation demonstrates the family growth path with ballistic and CBRN protection, combat management, surveillance sensors, stabilized weapon options, and a Giraffe 1X radar demonstrator. Open the Saab CB90 profile.
TriSeadon Fast Boat Arm
The fast boat arm is a layered force, not one overloaded craft. TAL provides protected command, senior transport, extraction, and casualty movement; organic RHIBs preserve daily rescue and boarding capability; mission modules add the boats, vehicles, people, and support spaces required for a particular operation; and CAG aviation plus fleet unmanned systems extend surveillance, protection, lift, and recovery.
Permanent core
- CAG TAL: protected mobile command, VIP movement, QRF command-element transport, extraction, medevac, secure communications, sensor coordination, and limited defensive fire support.
- Organic RHIBs: 2 fleet-standard 7-meter boats on every FFG, DDG, and CAG for rescue, utility movement, personnel transfer, inspection, boarding, and immediate response.
- CAG aviation: Venoms provide QRF lift, Vipers provide armed escort and overwatch, MH-60R/S aircraft provide SAR, medevac, utility, recovery, and ASW support, and UAVs extend ISR and communications relay.
- Fleet unmanned layer: USVs scout waterways and carry ISR, EW, acoustic, or relay payloads; UUVs inspect approaches, search for mines and obstacles, and develop safe route information before manned craft enter.
Mission-module combinations
- Swift-Boat IMM: adds fast patrol, escort, insertion, extraction, and coastal-response craft while TAL remains the protected command and casualty-recovery node.
- Amphibious Assault Lift IMM: adds 2 amphibious assault vehicles with fuel, parts, and launch/recovery support for heavier shore movement.
- Drug Interdiction/LEDET IMM: adds fast boarding craft, law-enforcement team support, secure evidence handling, detainee control, K9 support where assigned, and interoperable communications.
- Anti-Piracy/VBSS IMM: adds fast boarding craft, additional boat crews, armory and protective-equipment support, detainee handling, medical support, and sustained vessel-search capacity.
- RHIB/SOF IMM: adds special-operations craft, mission planning, armory, maintainers, and rapid launch/recovery support for NSW or SWCC tasking.
- Rapid ISO support: drug-interdiction, ISR, counter-UAS, communications relay, medical, evidence-processing, or other port-swappable ISO packages can reinforce an IMM without changing the ship's permanent boat baseline.
Combined effect: the force can scout with UAVs, USVs, and UUVs; insert by helicopter, RHIB, Swift boat, amphibious vehicle, or SOF craft; command and protect the operation from TAL and CAG; provide Viper overwatch and MH-60 recovery; process detainees or evidence; and move casualties back to the CAG Afloat Medical Center. That creates a balanced fast-boat arm without permanently loading every ship for every possible mission.
Mission Boats and Expansion
Organic boats preserve daily readiness. Larger, faster, more specialized, or more numerous craft are installed only when mission selection justifies the space, people, fuel, maintenance, and launch burden.
Swift-boat IMM: adds fast QRF, escort, patrol, insertion, extraction, and coastal-response craft.
LEDET and drug-interdiction package: adds boarding boats, evidence handling, detainee-control support, K9 support where assigned, and law-enforcement communications.
Counter-piracy and VBSS package: adds boarding capacity, protective equipment, armory support, medical support, and additional boat crews.
SOF or SWCC package: adds mission craft, maintainers, armory, planning space, communications, and launch-recovery support without making the package permanent on every hull.
USV package: substitutes or adds unmanned patrol, EW, ISR, acoustic, mine, relay, or payload craft using common garage or module interfaces.
LCB advantage: longitudinal stern LCBs can support craft, towed arrays, and recovery systems beyond the organic port and starboard RHIB garages.
Program Rule
Every TriSeadon hull sails with two immediately useful organic boats and two independent recovery paths. Specialized mission boats expand that baseline but never replace it. The handling system, craft envelope, crew workload, sea-state limits, ballistic protection, weapons fit, and certification requirements remain engineering decisions validated through model testing, full-scale trials, and Navy safety approval.
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