The delivery of the USNS Brunswick (EPF 6) marks the first ship in its class Austal has delivered to the Navy in 2016.
Austal Chief Executive Officer Andrew Bellamy said its a testament to the dedication and skill of Austal's work force.
"The EPF program is now mature and stable. The entire team at Austal USA has much to be proud of in achieving this. Its a great ship and a great program," Mr Bellamy said.
Three additional EPF, formerly Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSV), remain under construction in Mobile as part of a 10-ship, US$1.6 billion block-buy contract from the U.S. Navy. The future USNS Carson City (EPF 7) will be christened in January 2016 and will launch soon after, while modules for Yuma (EPF 8) and Bismarck (EPF 9) are under construction in Austal's module manufacturing facility. Construction of Burlington (EPF 10) is expected to begin later in 2016.
EPF 11 and 12 were fully funded by Congress in the 2015 and 2016 Omnibus Appropriations Bills. Shipbuilding contracts for EPF 11 and 12 have not yet been finalized however the Navy awarded Austal a $54 million contract in October to fund long lead materials for EPF 11.
About Austal and General Dynamics Mission Systems
Austal, as prime contractor, is teamed with General Dynamics Mission Systems for the Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF)program. As the ship mission system integrator, General Dynamics designs, integrates and tests the ships electronic systems including an open architecture computing infrastructure (OPEN CI), internal and external communication, electronic navigation, aviation and armament systems. Learn more here.
Austal is a global defense prime contractor and a designer and manufacturer of defense and commercial ships. For more than 25 years Austal has been a leader in the design, construction and maintenance of revolutionary ships for Governments, Navies and Ferry operators around the world. More than 250 vessels have been delivered in that time.
Click here to see Austal USA's full press release.
Austal Media Contact: uspress@austalusa.com
