Ship-to-shore resupply
Carries water, fuel, batteries and ammunition from a ship to small units on beaches with no port. No crew in the surf.
For logistics units supporting forces ashore.
Through the surf.
Past the beach.
Valcour Systems is building an autonomous amphibious platform that carries cargo from ship to shore through breaking surf, drives up the beach, and drives itself back out to sea.
The problem
The last 100 yards is the hardest leg of ship-to-shore logistics.
Small units on remote beaches still need water, fuel, batteries and ammunition.
Large vessels can carry that cargo to the coast. Getting it through breaking surf and above the high-water line still takes a crewed landing craft worth tens of millions of dollars, with its crew on the most exposed stretch of the trip.
We are building a platform that makes that run with no one on board, then comes back for the next load.
A platform that can't leave on its own is a liability.
Mission profile
It navigates in, lands, delivers and drives itself back out to sea.
One run has five legs. Each one is a separate engineering problem, and the return is the hardest.
Launch
The platform leaves a ship beyond the break line. No port, no pier and no prepared beach.
Ride in on a wave
It times the sets and comes in with the surf, holding its heading in breaking waves.
Land, tracks on
Tracks lower at the waterline and take over on wet sand.
Deliver, turn around
It drives above the high-water line, delivers its cargo and turns for the sea. No crew in the surf.
Return nose-first
It relaunches bow-first through incoming surf and heads back to the ship.
The platform
A tracked hull that swims, rides the surf and climbs the beach.
Retractable tracks are the core of the design: up in the water, down on sand. One platform and one autopilot serve every mission.
Tracks retracted
Swims and rides the surf.
Tracks lowered
Climbs the beach.
- Length
- 10 to 14 ft
- Cargo
- 500 to 2,000 lb
- Crew
- None
Design targets for our first platform, not test results. Drawings are concept illustrations.
Missions
First mission sets
Hydrographic reconnaissance
Measures depth, beach slope and sand strength across the surf zone and up the beach, in conditions where surveys are limited today.
For reconnaissance units and coastal engineers.
Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance
Places sensors or a communications relay at the waterline and drives away. Affordable enough to leave behind.
For reconnaissance units.
These are the first missions, not the only ones. The platform itself carries no weapons.
Engineering
The challenge is engineering, not new science.
The building blocks exist. Our work is making them function together in breaking surf, then proving it in the water, run after logged run.
Already proven by others
- Open-source autopilots steer tracked rovers and boats.
- Surf-zone crawlers and beach landing craft exist.
- Thrusters and tracked drives are available off the shelf.
What we must prove
- Hold a heading in breaking waves.
- Engage tracks on wet sand.
- Relaunch through incoming surf.
- Survive salt and sand.
- Navigate with satellites jammed.
Contact
Working the ship-to-shore problem? Talk to us.
We are an early-stage company in San Diego, building our first platform. We want to hear from operators, program offices, investors and engineers.