The USA’s Spearhead-class, expeditionary fast transports
Mar 20, 2020 04:58 UTC by Defense Industry Daily staff
Latest update [?]
USN shows JHSV
March 20/19: Shipyad Availability Colonna Shipyards won an $8.9 million deal for an 80-day shipyard availability for the emergency dry-docking of Navy Ship Spearhead (T-EPF 1). The Spearhead Class Expeditionary Fast Transport shipbuilding program to provide “a platform intended to support users in the Department of the Navy and Department of the Army. The Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) program is a cooperative effort for a high-speed, shallow draft vessel intended for rapid intratheater transport of medium-sized cargo payloads. The Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) is a shallow draft, all aluminum, commercial-based catamaran capable of intra-theater personnel and cargo lift, providing combatant commanders high-speed sealift mobility with inherent cargo handling capability and agility to achieve positional advantage over operational distances. Work will take place in Norfolk, Virginia and is expected to be finished 2020.
The above update is a recent abstract from our full article, itself part of our subscription offering. Keep reading to know more.
Austal MRV/JHSV concept
(click to view full)
When moving whole units, shipping is always the cheaper, higher-capacity option. Slow speed and port access are the big issues, but what if ship transit times could be cut sharply, and full-service ports weren’t necessary? After Australia led the way by using what amounted to fast car ferries for military operations, the US Army and Navy decided to give it a go. Both services leased Incat TSV/HSV wave-piercing catamaran ship designs, while the Marines’ charged ahead with very successful use of Austal’s Westpac Express high-speed catamaran. These Australian-designed ships all give commanders the ability to roll on a company with full gear and equipment (or roll on a full infantry battalion if used only as a troop transport), haul it intra-theater distances at 38 knots, then move their shallow draft safely into austere ports to roll them off.
Their successful use, and continued success on operations, attracted favorable comment and notice from all services. So favorable that the experiments have led to a $3+ billion program called the Joint High Speed Vessel. These designs may even have uses beyond simple ferrying and transport.
Displaying 328 of 9,973 words (about 25 pages)
The JHSV Ships
The JHSV Program
Supplements: From Leased to Bought
Contracts & Key Events
FY 2014-2020
FY 2013
FY 2011 – 2012
FY 2009 – 2010
FY 2005 – 2008
Appendix A: The US Military’s HSV/TSV Experience
Additional Readings & Sources
JHSV and its Relatives
Ancillary Equipment
News & Views
Austal concept
(click to view full)
HSV-2 Swift, frontal
(click to view full)
Incat JHSV concept – lost
(click to view full)
Hawaii Superferry
(click to view full)
JHSV 1 deploys
(click to view full)
JHSV 2 Launch
(click to view full)
Austal JHSV concept
(click to view full)
JHSV 1 construction
(click to view full)
Westpac express,
loading in Australia
(click to view full)
Westpac Express
(click to view full)
“I Serve With HSV-2!”
(click to view full)
Fill in the secure form below to activate your subscription right away (or pick another plan)
One-stop tracking
Our coverage for each program of record is centralized in one article to save time and provide comprehensive context.
Catch up with new events
Recent updates are highlighted upfront to make it easy to stay on top of programs over their lifecycle.
Table of contents
The table of contents can be moved on the side or folded to help you navigate within our reports.
Exec summary
Quickly catch up with just the latest updates, main events and milestones by hiding more granular details.
Media gallery
Each article comes with a gallery of relevant contextual images, charts, and videos.
Clean printouts
Our articles print beautifully, without any of the clutter that often gets in the way on the web.
Save as PDF
Exporting to the Adobe PDF format lets you read our content offline.
Subscribe for more
Check out our subscription plans to access our extensive defense program coverage.