An American military contractor wants to repurpose unused oil rigs as mobile bases that would help resupply US Navy vessels in the Pacific and host missile launchers.
Gibbs & Cox, a naval architecture subsidiary of Leidos, presented the Mobile Defense/Depot Platform (MODEP) concept at the Sea Air Space 2024 exhibit in Washington, DC earlier this month.
The missile base version could hold up to 512 Vertical Launch System (VLS) missile cells, or up to 100 new Large Missile Launchers (LML). The concept also “reduces risks and costs associated with land-based defense systems,” Leidos and Gibbs & Cox also said. Japan has considered using converted oil rigs as an alternative to its canceled Aegis Ashore missile defense program.
Both variants could travel at speeds of 5-8 knots to cover about 200 nautical miles a day and maintain stability even in waves up to 60 feet (20 meters) tall.
