Ponce
19th June 2011, 01:21 PM
Go to link for cool pictures which includes the 007 ship.......I would like to know why it failed, if it was build it means the the idea was a good one but the implementation was a bad one.
================================================== ===
A Sea Shadow of its former self! 007-style stealth ship that cost $195m to build is heading for the junk yard
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 2:50 PM on 19th June 2011
It was the inspiration behind the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies, but Die Another Day might be more appropriate - and that day is coming soon.
After two decades of experimentation, the Navy has decided to get rid of the Sea Shadow, the 007-style, stealth ship.
The plan was to salvage the ship by getting someone to buy it and put it on display.
Looked good at the time: The Sea Shadow stealth ship was the inspiration behind the vessel in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies
A pile of junk: The ship was up for grabs, but there were no takers
But after spending five years and millions of dollars searching, the Navy has given up hope of finding any museum to take it.
Navy spokesman Chris Johnson said the ship's fate is all but sealed.
The Sea Shadow, made in secrecy, stored in secrecy and constructed for secrecy, once cost the United States Navy $195 million to build and operate.
Now it appears to be destined for the junk heap.
'The next disposition is dismantling and recycling,' Mr Johnson said.
Just for testing: The highly-expensive Sea Shadow was never meant to carry out missions
Hidden away: In the dry dock in California
He added that from 2006 until this year, the Navy made the Sea Shadow available for donation, Fox News reports.
'While several letters of interest were received, only one organisation submitted an application, which was determined to be non-viable,' he said.
The ship is perhaps best known as the inspiration for the stealth ship in Tomorrow Never Dies.
Mr Johnson said he couldn't give a time frame for its actual demise, but he said the decision is based on the lack of interest from any viable taker.
Completed in 1985 by the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency and Lockheed Martin, it was the Navy’s first experimental stealth ship.
The James Bond version: The stealth ship in the film Tomorrow Never Dies that was inspired by the U.S. Navy's Sea Shadow
Even Bond fans didn't want the ship: Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in the film 'Tomorrow Never Dies'
At 160ft long and 70ft wide, the Sea Shadow has a maximum speed of 14 knots and has the ability to operate in Sea State 5 conditions, or winds from 17 to 21 knots.
But it was never intended for missions, just for testing.
Mr Johnson said: 'The craft was built to examine application of stealth technology on naval missiles.'
The exact condition of the vessel is unclear.
The Sea Shadow now berths inside the rusting hulk of the Hughes Mining Barge, a fully submersible dry dock at the Navy's Mole Pier in San Diego, California.
The dry dock, something else the Navy is also trying to give away, keeps the ship safely hidden from spy satellites and from public view.
A Lockheed Martin spokesman said that the company hasn’t had anything to do with the ship for 'at least four to five years,' meaning that there has been no upkeep or maintenance completed since then.
At just 26 years old, the ship could be saved by a last-minute taker, Mr Johnson said.
But in reality, a ship-dismantling company is likely to come along and sell the metal on the open market.
Then it could be reused for just about anything.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2005464/A-Sea-Shadow-self-007-style-stealth-ship-cost-195m-build-heading-junk-yard.html#ixzz1Pn4LBx00
================================================== ===
A Sea Shadow of its former self! 007-style stealth ship that cost $195m to build is heading for the junk yard
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 2:50 PM on 19th June 2011
It was the inspiration behind the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies, but Die Another Day might be more appropriate - and that day is coming soon.
After two decades of experimentation, the Navy has decided to get rid of the Sea Shadow, the 007-style, stealth ship.
The plan was to salvage the ship by getting someone to buy it and put it on display.
Looked good at the time: The Sea Shadow stealth ship was the inspiration behind the vessel in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies
A pile of junk: The ship was up for grabs, but there were no takers
But after spending five years and millions of dollars searching, the Navy has given up hope of finding any museum to take it.
Navy spokesman Chris Johnson said the ship's fate is all but sealed.
The Sea Shadow, made in secrecy, stored in secrecy and constructed for secrecy, once cost the United States Navy $195 million to build and operate.
Now it appears to be destined for the junk heap.
'The next disposition is dismantling and recycling,' Mr Johnson said.
Just for testing: The highly-expensive Sea Shadow was never meant to carry out missions
Hidden away: In the dry dock in California
He added that from 2006 until this year, the Navy made the Sea Shadow available for donation, Fox News reports.
'While several letters of interest were received, only one organisation submitted an application, which was determined to be non-viable,' he said.
The ship is perhaps best known as the inspiration for the stealth ship in Tomorrow Never Dies.
Mr Johnson said he couldn't give a time frame for its actual demise, but he said the decision is based on the lack of interest from any viable taker.
Completed in 1985 by the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency and Lockheed Martin, it was the Navy’s first experimental stealth ship.
The James Bond version: The stealth ship in the film Tomorrow Never Dies that was inspired by the U.S. Navy's Sea Shadow
Even Bond fans didn't want the ship: Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in the film 'Tomorrow Never Dies'
At 160ft long and 70ft wide, the Sea Shadow has a maximum speed of 14 knots and has the ability to operate in Sea State 5 conditions, or winds from 17 to 21 knots.
But it was never intended for missions, just for testing.
Mr Johnson said: 'The craft was built to examine application of stealth technology on naval missiles.'
The exact condition of the vessel is unclear.
The Sea Shadow now berths inside the rusting hulk of the Hughes Mining Barge, a fully submersible dry dock at the Navy's Mole Pier in San Diego, California.
The dry dock, something else the Navy is also trying to give away, keeps the ship safely hidden from spy satellites and from public view.
A Lockheed Martin spokesman said that the company hasn’t had anything to do with the ship for 'at least four to five years,' meaning that there has been no upkeep or maintenance completed since then.
At just 26 years old, the ship could be saved by a last-minute taker, Mr Johnson said.
But in reality, a ship-dismantling company is likely to come along and sell the metal on the open market.
Then it could be reused for just about anything.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2005464/A-Sea-Shadow-self-007-style-stealth-ship-cost-195m-build-heading-junk-yard.html#ixzz1Pn4LBx00