A joint support ship (JSS) is a multi-role naval ship capable of launching and supporting "

joint A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

amphibious operations Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducte ...

. It also provides sea-lift, underway support, sea-basing and logistics capabilities for combined army and naval missions.

Features

JSS's have several common features to support the many roles it can assume for both navies and armies. Below are some examples of these common features: *

Sealift Sealift is a term used predominantly in military logistics and refers to the use of cargo ships for the deployment of military assets, such as weaponry, vehicles, military personnel, and supplies. It complements other means of transport, such a ...

deck space is required for transport of heavy equipment and passenger space for military personnel. * Fuel storage tanks and dry storage for ammunition, food, and other supplies for replenishing other ships while underway. * sea basing command rooms for mission coordination, a

helicopter deck A helicopter deck (or helo deck) is a helicopter pad on the deck of a ship, usually located on the stern and always clear of obstacles that would prove hazardous to a helicopter landing. In the United States Navy, it is commonly and properly ...

and/or LCU's for transport to shore and other support facilities like hospital rooms. Furthermore, to fulfill its missions a flexible modular design allows for configuration of temporary areas for different purposes as missions require. As such it is basically a combination of an

amphibious warfare ship An amphibious warfare ship (or amphib) is an amphibious vehicle warship employed to land and support ground forces, such as marines, on enemy territory during an amphibious assault. Specialized shipping can be divided into two types, most cr ...

and

auxiliary ships Auxiliary may refer to: * A backup site or system In language * Auxiliary language (disambiguation) * Auxiliary verb In military and law enforcement * Auxiliary police * Auxiliaries, civilians or quasi-military personnel who provide support of ...

like replenishment oiler, transport ship, and hospital ship in one.

German Taktische Konzept Mehrzweckschiff

Proposed ship 196 meters long, 20,000 ton displacement. * Range 7500 nautical miles * RoRo capability * space for 271 vehicles * 8 helicopters * 1 landing craft * Room for 700 military personnel * and a 70-bed hospital with 2 operating rooms

Canadian Joint Support Ship

In 1999 the

Canadian government The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in ...

sought to replace the aging of auxiliary oiler replenishment (AOR) ships through the Afloat Logistic Support Capability (ALSC) program. The replacement program envisioned tanker ships with

roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...

(RORO) sealift capability. These multi-role ships were envisioned to deploy mobilized forces directly to the beach. In 2004,

Public Works and Government Services Canada Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC; french: Services publics et Approvisionnement Canada)''Public Services and Procurement Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Public Works ...

(PWGSC) issued a request for proposal (RFP) for the joint support ship (JSS) to replace three AOR ships, although one AOR ship was already retired by the time the RFP was released. The RFP capped the bid price at C$1.5 billion (most reports state the cost was C$2.1bn, however C$600 million was reserved for the government's own project costs, and was not included in the RFP bid ceiling price). The RFP called for three multi-role ships capable of refueling ships at sea, providing ship-borne helicopter support, heavy sealift capability, a mobile hospital, a joint force headquarters center, and a strengthened hull for operations in sea ice. PWGSC cancelled the program in 2008 after stating all the received bids were above the mandatory budget. The Canadian government restarted the JSS procurement process in the same year. In 2013 Canada selected the replenishment ship design to replace the ''Protecteur''-class fleet. The German design provides fuel, provisions, ammunition, and some materiel and medical capabilities, and can land up to two helicopters. The ships are to be built in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

by Seaspan Shipyards under the National Ship Procurement Strategy (NSPS). Originally to be designated as the ''Queenston'' class with ship names of HMCS ''Queenston'' and HMCS ''Châteauguay'' (named after battle sites from the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

), in 2017 the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack subma ...

renamed the joint support ships to the former ''Protecteur''-class designation, re-using the same ship names HMCS ''Protecteur'' and HMCS ''Preserver''. The cost of building the two replenishment ships was set at C$2.3bn with first delivery occurring in 2018. In 2018, the government's own review indicated the total cost was then calculated to be C$3.4bn, with first delivery not likely before 2022 or 2023. As of 2019, delivery of the first vessel was expected to occur in 2023 followed by the second vessel in 2025. Those dates were each reported in 2022 to have slipped by a further two years.

Dutch Joint Support Ship

Since 2015 the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

has HNLMS ''Karel Doorman'' as their only Joint Support Ship. In 2016 the Dutch and German Ministers of Defence agreed that HNLMS ''Karel Doorman'' would be shared by both the Royal Netherlands Navy and the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

References

External links

* *{{cite web, url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/fgs-jss.htm , title=Joint Support Ship, Taktische Konzept Mehrzweckschiff (TKM) Ship types Amphibious warfare vessels