The Austal USA EPF medical concept would accommodate a MV-22 Osprey. AUSTAL USA Image
Finding $653 million for a trio of submarines that the Navy is trying to repair in private yards and $49 million to convert a Military Sealift Command ship into an ‘ambulance’ for naval forces top the Navy’s unfunded priorities list that was delivered to Congress on Friday. Read More
Expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Brunswick (T-EPF 6) departs Naval Base Guam, passing the MSC expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Fall River (T-EPF 4) and marking the start of Pacific Partnership 2019. US Navy photo
A pair of expeditionary fast transport ships (EPFs) are playing a key role in this year’s multi-national Pacific Partnership 2019 exercise focused on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the region.
USS Tulsa (LCS-16) launched on March 15, 2017. Austal USA photo.
This post has been updated to include additional information on Austal USA’s financial history with the Littoral Combat Ship program.
Federal agents visited Littoral Combat Ship manufacturer Austal USA in its Mobile, Ala., shipyard as part of an unspecified investigation involving the U.S. Navy, according to local media. Read More
The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Greenville (SSN 772) prepares to moor alongside the submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39), Dec. 9, 2018, near Puerto Princessa, Philippines. Emory S. Land is a forward-deployed expeditionary submarine tender on an extended deployment conducting coordinated tended moorings and afloat maintenance in the U.S. 5th and 7th Fleet areas of operations. US Navy photo.
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Navy now plans to design and field two hulls under the Common Hull Auxiliary Multi-Mission Platform (CHAMP) program, after the program office realized the five mission areas CHAMP seeks to cover fit neatly into people-centric and volume-centric categories. Read More
A developmental, early variant of the Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV) autonomously conducts maneuvers on the Potomac River Test Range on March 28, 2018. US Navy Photo
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Last week Naval Sea Systems Command won Pentagon approval to develop a mine countermeasure unmanned surface vehicle as part of the Navy’s ongoing effort to replace its aging MCM infrastructure. Read More
USNS Carson City (T-EPF- 7) entering the Black Sea on Aug. 15, 2018. Photo by Yörük Işık used with permission
Expeditionary Fast Transport ship USNS Carson City (T-EPF-7) transited the Bosphorus Strait and entered the Black Sea last week, a first for the entire class of Military Sealift Command-operated ships. Read More
Austal USA rendering of proposed EPF hospital ship. Austal USA
As Austal USA prepares to negotiate the contract for the final planned expeditionary fast transport (EPF) vessel, the shipbuilder is actively exploring how to keep the production line hot by pitching the hull as a solution for other Navy needs, such as providing medical services in austere coastal environments.
USNS Burlington (T-EPF-10) roll-out on Feb. 28, 2018, at the Austal USA yard in Mobile, Ala. Austal photo.
The Navy’s next expeditionary fast transport vessel, the future USNS Burlington (EPF-10), completed builders trials at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala., and in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Carson City (T-EPF 7), right, maneuvers alongside a Norwegian vessel during BALTOPS 2018. US Navy photo.
The Navy continues to expand its uses for the Expeditionary Fast Transport class of ships, as USNS Carson City (T-EPF-7) last month conducted the first high-latitude operations and the first mine countermeasures mission for the ship class. Read More
A crane moves the lower stern into place on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) at Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va. on June 22, 2017. US Navy Photo
Navy shipbuilding has been plagued for the last decade by programs running over-budget and underperforming once completed, according to a new government report, resulting in a smaller fleet than previously planned.
