The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of USNS Fall River (JHSV 4) from Austal USA yesterday, a week shy of six months from the date they took delivery of JHSV 3. This is the fourth Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) delivered to date for the JHSV Program which totals 10 ships at over $1.6 billion.
The 338' aluminum catamarans are designed to be fast, flexible and maneuverable even in shallow waters, making them ideal for transporting troops and equipment quickly within a theater of operations. The ship has the ability to support a variety of operations, supporting the warfighter through traditional logistics missions, humanitarian support projects, disaster response or by supporting maritime law enforcement activities.
The JHSV Program continues to progress well at Austal USA. In addition to the delivery of USNS Fall River (JHSV 4), Austal is preparing Trenton (JHSV 5) for launch later this month. Construction on Brunswick (JHSV 6) is also well underway and aluminium was cut for Carson City (JHSV 7) in early September.
“The delivery of this vessel, the fourth JHSV, is evidence of how well the program has matured as Austal continues to meet our commitments to the Navy,” said Austal USA President,Craig Perciavalle. “We’ve received many positive reports about how the first three JHSVs have been performing in the fleet, and we are excited about the prospects for the JHSV program in the future.”
In addition to the JHSV program, Austal is also currently under contract with the U.S. Navy to build ten 127-meter Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) for over $3.5 billion. Five LCSs are at various stages of construction.
For the LCS and JHSV programs, Austal, as prime contractor, is teamed with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics. For the JHSV program, General Dynamics is responsible for the design, integration and testing of the ship’s navigation and communication systems, C4I and aviation systems.
