WASHINGTON – Bath Iron Works is rushing to complete a study for a versatile, high-speed combat ship that is able to ply coastal waters, fend off swarms of smaller hostile vessels, sink small diesel submarines and neutralize floating mines.

The study pits Maine’s largest private employer against five other defense contractors nationwide in a fierce battle to land billions of dollars in contracts to build a new kind of ship expected to take center stage in the fight on terrorism and other threats that require quick responses in coastal waters only as deep as 20 feet.

The U.S. Navy is paying BIW $500,000 to produce an advanced concept by mid-February for an estimated $250 million Focused Mission High-Speed Ship.

The other contractors in the competition include Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Lockheed Martin Marine Systems, Gibbs and Cox, John J. McMullen Associates and Textron Systems Marine & Land Operations.

The study is intended to define what’s possible for the rapidly emerging Littoral Combat Ship Program, also known as LCS – a loosely defined class of highly maneuverable vessels that can operate in very shallow trouble spots globally.

The Navy plans to commission as many as 30 to 60 LCS ships. Construction may begin as early as 2005, but the program could be speeded up as American troops are repositioned to fight growing worldwide threats and terrorist operations.

The necessity for vessels that can be rapidly deployed is obvious, according to military analyst John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org, a nonprofit defense policy group.

“The Navy needs a large number of small ships for what it is facing,” he said. “They are taking on more and more intercept operations, like catching terrorists sailing out of Pakistan, and stopping oil smuggling from Iraq.”

Sales of the ship to the Navy are expected to be substantial – as much as $10 billion or more.

Future business with other nations would be an added bonus, said Kendal Pease, vice president for Virginia-based General Dynamics, BIW’s parent company.

“There’s a huge potential for international sales because it’s the just the size that other countries want and need,” Pease said. “Very few countries have any surface ships capable of joining in the coalition against present and future terrorist threats.”

Versatility will be key to the LCS. Hopes are that the competitors in the study will identify ways that vessels can be reconfigured swiftly for a variety of missions, including fleet protection, intercept operations, humanitarian relief and logistical support for Special Operations Forces and the U.S. Marine Corps.

The LCS is expected to achieve speeds of 50 knots and displace 2,000 to 3,000 tons – about one-third the size of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, like the ones being built at BIW. There also may be capabilities on the LCS for launching helicopters and manned or robotic vehicles for air, surface and land missions.

“We are looking for concept studies and nothing is decided yet for sure,” said Navy spokeswoman Lt. Brauna Carl. “But modularity is important so it can be deployed anywhere in the world,” she said.

One challenge to the competing companies is finding a hull design that delivers speed, strength and seaworthiness.

The Bath team is focusing on an advanced trimaran hull form, recent technology developed from work completed by BIW for the Office of Naval Research. That will be coupled with an existing three-hull design available through Austal, USA.

The approach offers outstanding endurance and performance in all sea conditions, Pease said.

“Without that kind of design, you can’t achieve the speed and the needed durability for traveling 4,000 miles, which is exactly what the Navy wants,” he said.

Austal is poised to launch a high-speed trimaran ferry in 2004. It will serve as a prototype for Bath’s LCS, because the hull can be easily militarized and loaded with the most-advanced high-technology, Pease added.

Such a ship will offer significantly lighter displacement than the Navy’s FFG 7 Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates, designed and built at BIW prior to the destroyer program. It will be capable of extended independent operations with a crew of 30 or less.

Lockheed Martin is expected to offer a study based on its Sea SLICE advanced technology, a 105-foot long catamaran that cruises at 30 knots in 10-foot seas.

Northrop Grumman Ship Systems is working with the Swedish company, Kockums AB and its German parent company, Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG, for its study. Kockums AB designed and built the first VISBY Class corvette, and Northrop Grumman plans to use the stealthy mono-hull as the baseline for its LCS program.

BIW also is relying on expertise from leading U.S. and international defense contractors. Team members include the Boeing Company; British Aerospace Corporation; Maritime Applied Physics Corporation; CAE Marine Systems and five other General Dynamics’ business units.

After the February deadline for the competition, the Navy will evaluate the studies for 30 days, and then narrow the six competing teams down to three for more-detailed proposals. Those proposals will be used to determine who will be the lead contractor for the new ship.