Austal’s USA has reportedly delivered the tenth Expeditionary Fast Transport ship USNS Burlington (EPF 10) to the US Navy (USN), as part of a US$ 1.9 billion contract for 12 vessels. It is also Austal’s fourth ship delivered to the USN in 2018.
On this note, the company’s CEO David Singleton said, “Austal takes great pride in sending another EPF to join the Military Sealift Command (MSC) fleet. The success of this milestone achievement is a result of the dedication and hard work of the Austal team."
The USNS Burlington (EPF 10) is a 103-metre long Spearhead-class aluminium catamaran capable of transporting 600 tonnes over 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots. It is designed in a way enabling to operate in austere ports and waterways that are too shallow and narrow for the larger ships in the surface fleet.
The ship’s flight deck can also support flight operations for a wide variety of manned and unmanned aircraft, including a CH-53 Super Stallion.
Captain Scot Searles, Strategic and Theater Sealift program manager, said “Burlington will provide tremendous flexibility to combatant commanders in the fleet” while also adding “EPF 10 will enhance our forward presence and provide a variety of capabilities to US operations around the globe.”
Two more Spearhead-class EPFs are under construction at Austal’s shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. While the EPF 11 named Puerto Rico is currently preparing for sea trials, the EPF 12 named Newport is put in a final assembly. Austal has also received instruction from the Navy to order long lead-time materials for EPF 13.
Besides, Austal is also under contract to build Independent Variant Littoral Combat ships for the USN.
Austal is an Australia-based global ship building company and defence prime contractor that specialises in the design, construction, and support of defence and commercial vessels.
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