Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF)

Navy Medicine is Preparing for the Future of Expeditionary Combat

Austal USA rendering of EPF hospital ship. Austal USA

The Navy will christen the first of a new variant of the expeditionary fast transport ship with expanded medical facilities this week. The new ship comes as the service’s medicine branch starts to transform to meet the challenges of the Indo-Pacific’s vast distances.

The future USNS Cody (EPF-14) is the first of the Spearhead-class EPF Flight II, produced by Austal USA for the Navy. The new ship variety will have a limited intensive care unit...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/22/navy-medicine-is-preparing-for-the-future-of-expeditionary-combat

Crew-Optional USNS Apalachicola Delivers to the Navy, Ship’s Unmanned Future Unclear

USNS Apalachicola (EPF-13) underway in the Gulf of Mexico. Austal USA

SAN DIEGO – A logistics ship that Congress directed the Navy to build with the ability to operate autonomously delivered to the service on Thursday, Naval Sea Systems Command announced.

Spearhead-class aluminum catamaran USNS Apalachicola (EPF-13) is now set to operate in the Western Pacific in support of U.S. 7th Fleet.

“The delivery of EPF 13 comes after several successful at-sea periods for the vessel, including Unmanned...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/16/crew-optional-usns-apalachicola-delivers-to-the-navy-ships-unmanned-future-unclear

Congressional Appropriators Reach $1.7T Omnibus Deal; Defense Bill Funds 11 Battle Force Ships

Moon over U.S. Capitol on Nov. 13, 2016. NASA Photo

Congressional appropriators early Tuesday announced a deal for a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package for Fiscal Year 2023 that allots funding for the Navy to buy 11 battle force ships.
The omnibus package allots $858 billion for national defense, matching the FY 2023 authorization bill. It’s a $45 billion increase from the $813 billion the Biden administration sought for national defense in its FY 2023 budget mission.

The defense spending...

https://news.usni.org/2022/12/20/congressional-appropriators-reach-1-7t-omnibus-deal-defense-bill-funds-11-battle-force-ships

Austal USA Awarded $44M to Develop Autonomous Version of Spearhead-class EPF

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. Navy photo

The builder of the Navy’s Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) has won a $44 million contract to develop an autonomous version of the aluminum catamaran, according to a June 7 Pentagon contract announcement.

The modification to the future USNS Apalachicola (EPF-13)...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/09/austal-usa-awarded-44m-to-develop-autonomous-version-of-spearhead-class-epf

Austal USA Expanding to Make Steel Ships; Yard Looks to Bid on Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutter, Navy Light Amphib Programs

Austal USA rendering of steel facility at its Alabama shipyard. Austal USA Image

The Austal USA shipyard in Alabama that specializes in aluminum ship construction is officially on its way to also offering steel ships, breaking ground on a new facility on Friday meant to open up new business opportunities with the Navy and Coast Guard in the short term.

By April 2022, the yard will be transformed to have separate production lines and facilities for aluminum ships and steel ships – the former...

https://news.usni.org/2021/03/29/austal-usa-expanding-to-make-steel-ships-yard-looks-to-bid-on-coast-guard-offshore-patrol-cutter-navy-light-amphib-programs

New Details of Austal’s EPF Hospital Ship Emerge

Austal USA EPF medical concept. AUSTAL USA Image

After the Navy last week issued a $235-million contract modification to Austal USA to build its latest multi-purpose Expeditionary Fast Transport ship, new details of the ambulance variant have come to light.

A spokesman for Naval Sea Systems Command told USNI News this week that the ambulance variant of the Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) will have both an intensive care unit and other healthcare accommodations.

“Beginning with EPF 14, the EPF...

https://news.usni.org/2021/03/05/new-details-of-austals-epf-hospital-ship-emerge

Congress Overrides Trump Defense Bill Veto

NASA Photo

The Senate voted 81 to 13 to override President Donald Trump’s veto of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act in a rare New Year’s Day session.

“Today, the Senate sent a strong message of support to our troops by voting to make the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act law,” Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said in a Friday statement. “I’m glad the Senate voted once again, by a wide bipartisan margin, for this bill — the...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/01/congress-overrides-trump-defense-bill-veto

Senate Appropriators Allot $21.35B for Shipbuilding; 1 Virginia-Class Attack Boat

Sailors aboard USS Delaware (SSN-791) on Nov. 5, 2019. US Navy Photo

Senate appropriators are proposing $21.35 billion for Navy shipbuilding that would fund nine battleforce ships, according to the text of the legislation that was released on Tuesday.

The Senate Appropriations Committee’s funding allocation for a total of nine battleforce ships in its draft of the Fiscal Year 2021 defense spending bill is an increase from the eight the Navy sought in its request earlier this year.

The legislation...

https://news.usni.org/2020/11/10/senate-appropriators-allot-21-35b-for-shipbuilding-1-virginia-class-attack-boat

Austal Expanding Yard In Alabama as It Eyes New Unmanned, Amphibious Shipbuilding Programs

The future Savannah (LCS-28) is floated down the Mobile River on Sept. 2, 2020, just days after it was christened at the Austal USA shipyard. Austal USA photo.

Austal USA is expanding the capacity and capability of its Alabama shipyard, doubling down on investing in its future in a way reminiscent of 2009, just before it won the block buy of Littoral Combat Ships that secured the yard a spot in the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.

The Mobile yard this month closed on the purchase of a ship...

https://news.usni.org/2020/09/15/austal-expanding-yard-in-alabama-as-it-eyes-new-unmanned-amphibious-shipbuilding-programs

Proposed COVID-19 Relief Package Includes $2.2B for Shipbuilding, 4 Hospital Ships

Austal USA EPF medical concept. AUSTAL USA Image

Republican senators want to include $2.2 billion for Navy shipbuilding in the latest round of relief funds meant to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the text of the bill, lawmakers would allot $1.45 billion of that money so the service could buy four “expeditionary medical ships.”

The proposed funds for medical vessels come after the Navy dispatched its two hospital ships, USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) and USNS Comfort (T-AH-20), earlier this...

https://news.usni.org/2020/07/28/gop-covid-19-relief-package-includes-2-2b-for-shipbuilding-4-hospital-ships

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