Тримаран Triton

RV Triton, triple-hull warship demonstrator, visits USA

5 June 2001



Research Vessel (RV) Triton is visiting the USA's East Coast this month to carry out a collaborative trials programme with the US Department of Defense (DoD). RV Triton is the world's first trimaran warship, claimed by the UK's Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) to be one of the most significant developments in warship design since the Ironclads.

Owned and developed by DERA, (soon to change its name to QinetiQ), RV Triton arrived in New York in time to take part in Fleet week. From New York she paid short visits to Newport, Rhode Island and Philadelphia before finally arriving in Washington DC early on Sunday 3 June.


Measuring 91 metres in length at the waterline and with a beam of 22.5 metres, RV Triton is the world's first motor powered trimaran warship demonstrator. She was built at the Vosper Thornycroft yard in Southampton, England where she was launched in May 2000 and handed over to DERA at the end of August.

Ultimately, RV Triton will determine whether the triple-hull form will be suitable for consideration for the Future Surface Combatant, which will replace the Royal Navy's current Type 22/23 Frigates.

The structure of RV Triton is representative of a warship and is similar in style to a typical Royal Navy frigate. Induced strains and structural responses throughout the ship are being measured and recorded by the US Navy's Trials Instrumentation System (TIS), which was fitted under an inter-governmental agreement. TIS records over 300 channels covering a wide range of data from structural instruments and other sources such as machinery control, ship motion, steering gear, navigation and the environment. Collaborative work between the UK Ministry of Defence and the US DoD will continue for the first 18 months of sea trials.

The US Coastguard has taken an express interest in the triple-hull design and, whilst RV Triton is off Portsmouth, USA, they are taking the opportunity to conduct side by side trials with a 270ft Coastguard cutter so that hydrodynamic trials results can be compared.


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DSD

Helicopter trial success for RV Triton

7 August 2001

A Royal Navy Lynx Mk 8 helicopter has successfully carried out a series of landings and take-offs from the deck of RV Triton the world's first trimaran warship demonstrator owned by QinetiQ (formerly DERA, the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency).

Funded by the Defence Procurement Agency, DPA, this was the latest success in RV Triton's demanding trials programme and the first time ever that a helicopter has landed on a trimaran.

Since delivery to QinetiQ in August of last year the ship has conducted a series of sea keeping and structural trials together with major Naval Operations trials, which included a replenishment at sea (RAS) with RFA Brambleleaf.

Whilst visiting the USA's East Coast, RV Triton carried out side by side trials with the US Coastguard's USCGC Campbell. These included manoeuvring, sea keeping and comparative powering using a number of different bearings and ship's speeds.

Leading into the major structural trials phase over the autumn and winter of this year, RV Triton is currently engaged in a series of hydrodynamic trials. The trials programme has been very successful with results validating the earlier research and proving that the trimaran hullform can perform as well as, and in many cases better than, the monohull.


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Trimaran/tricat projects have to give profs to army officials be adopted. After many years of fine racing across the Globe