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Science Technology

U.S. Navy Building "Macross"? 34

Posted by timothy from the your-money-at-play dept.
Sang Woo Han writes: "It seems that the US Navy is planning on building a floating structure a mile long called the Joint Mobile Offshore Base (JMOB). Featured on MIT's Technology Review, the article explains in detail not only about the JMOB, but plans to build other structures such as ports, airports, and even a floating city. Now all we need is for a couple of giant humanoid aliens to show up and we start beating them up in Valkyrie fighters. (And who'll be our Lynn Min Mei, then?)" Zhang Ziyi, if it can be arranged, please.
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U.S. Navy Building "Macross"? More

U.S. Navy Building "Macross"?

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  • If this is a collection of multiple structures combined into one platform, would JMOB then stand for Just a Mass of Boats?
  • And who'll be our Lynn Min Mei, then?

    Ummm.. hello? Is this not slashdot? Is there any question that our Min Mei would be none other than Natalie Portman, pouring hot grits down the pants of all the Zentraedi??

  • First, we get a story about the future of 3D first person shooters (the elusive virtual world) and now we've got a story about giant floating barges and condominiums.

    I'm not going to open any bitmaps today.

  • Stress (Score:2, Interesting)

    by lavaforge ( 245529 )
    I read the article, and I still have one question: How does a ship this size attain the structural rigidity to keep from deforming under it's own weight? I have this image of the entire ship squishing like some kind of cartoon.

  • Quack! (Score:2, Insightful)

    by refactored ( 260886 )
    The phrase "Sitting Duck" comes to mind...

    • Overheard (Score:4, Funny)

      by SEWilco ( 27983 ) on Tuesday August 14, 2001 @10:51AM (#2136821) Journal
      • "Sir? Where do I aim my peashooter on this thing?"
      • "One gun emplacement hit, two thousand to go..."
      • "Sir, my artillery can only reach halfway across the target!"
      • "Wow, the torpedoes certainly have a smooth ride on the leeward side of that mobile breakwater."
      • "500 watertight compartments flooded, forty thousand left..."
      • "The fleet's next assignment is to paint the deck white and reverse the 'el Nino' warming."
      • "Well, of course there are depth charge and torpedo hatches on the bottom. The destroyer escort can't reach the six subs hiding underneath."
      • "You're right, a tactical nuclear satchel charge is a sensible solution for the problem..."
      • "What do you mean independence? How many times the square footage of Sealand?"
      • "The paper is called 'The use of tidal gauges to track massive oceanic displacements'"
      • "Here are the surveillance camera recordings of the arrival at the bow of the grandchildren of the dolphins that have been chasing us..."
      • "Kilroy was here"
  • These types of things would make interesting scientific platforms for marine research. And what about NASA? I bet they could save some major cheese on rocket/shuttle launches.

    Or maybe they'll just be used as "Floating Fortresses" (ala 1984).
  • At one time I thought Micro$oft was going to create a floating City. One they could have complete windows control. Was there not a movement a few years ago to to build a city in the Gulf of Mexico?
  • ...when you can sink the whole base?
  • Even if a little late I have to say it : Let's refit the Yamato, rename it the Argo and fly into space for the 148000 light years round-trip! (If only Gamilons exist!)
  • does this thing withstand hurricanes? hurricanes have more energy than a bunch of nuclear bombs. ok lets say it can withstand a hurricane or two. can it withstand an enemy ship launching torpedoes at it? that means its going to have to be protected by a ton of submarines. what about a missle attack? or air raid? this will be like pearl harbor 2 and titanic 2 combined together! makes a great premise for movie! i bet hollywood likes that idea! its too big.
  • Aircraft carriers are called "bomb magnets" for a very good reason, but JMOB would raise the "bomb magnet" concept to a whole new level.
  • (And who'll be our Lynn Min Mei, then?)

    Let's just hope it's not Christina Aguilera and/or Britney Spears. I'm sick of both of them. For quality female singers, I'd rather hear Kate Bush. :-)

    On a serious note, I think the article lacks detail: how does the Damascus steel compare to the steel used in the Toledo swords? Those are remembered with envy, too, and the know-how hasn't been lost. Who knows, maybe Verhoeven and Pendray al simply reinvented the wheel...

    • Why some dim white girl? 2 million+ Min Mei clones are born every day.

      And to follow on your sub-thread: Does the term "Moorish Smiths" answer it for you? (ie Imported Tech's)
  • help build this.

    First Snowcrash ref.
    • Not oil - cable TV. L Bob Rife, Lord of Bandwidth. May you be cast out for making incorrect Neal Stephenson references!
      Personally, I think it could be used as a tax haven - just moor up ferries for accommo, old carriers as a landing strip, and maybe an obsolete battleship as a bank vault for a unique piece of antique jewellery. Call it the Logjam. (First Banksie reference). Actually, something like this was described in the James Cobb technothriller "Seafighters" - take nine big barges and moor them together, call it a Mobile Offshore Base (aka Floater One) then run American UAVs, Fleet Air Arm helicopters and singularly cool hovercraft gunboats off it to suppress piracy and warfare off the West African coast.
      The book mentioned that something similar, but smaller, was used to host Special Boat Squadron units in the Gulf during the Iran-Iraq tanker war, when the Iranians were sending out light naval units to beat up oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. So it's probably not entirely a new idea. Still pretty good though.

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