BATH (AP) – There are several projects on the horizon that have the potential to boost the workload at Bath Iron Works.

Bath Iron Works has partnered with the Australian company Austal on a design for a small, fast, flexible warship designed to operate closer to shore. The prototype of a three-hulled design that can reach speeds over 50 knots will be built at Austal’s shipyard in Mobile, Ala.

A competing monohull design is being created by Lockheed Martin. What happens after the two prototypes are built is unclear. But the Navy is keenly interested in the project, known as LCS, for Littoral Combat Ship.

Another idea making the rounds is so-called Sea Basing, the idea of having a logistics capability at sea to replace or supplement traditional land ports. This idea got a boost when U.S. warships were prevented from using Turkish ports for the Iraq war.

A mobile Sea Base would provide a platform to launch operations without the need for help from a friendly country. While the Navy is interested, this project is largely in the brainstorming stage.

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