General Dynamics [GD] NASSCO is prepping the first purpose-built Afloat Forward Staging Base, the USNS Lewis B. Puller (MLP-3/ASFB-1), for delivery this week, a company official told Defense Daily.
Delivery of the ship is tentatively scheduled for June 11, although it could occur a couple days earlier, Steve Eckberg, the company’s director of government programs, said in a June 5 interview.
The Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB) design is based on another NASSCO-made ship called the Mobile Landing Platform (MLP), which was built as a transfer point to move cargo between large, medium-speed roll-on/roll-off ships and landing craft. The AFSB configuration adds a 60,000 square foot deck, hangar, deckhouse, additional berthing and fuel and equipment storage, making it capable of supporting airborne mine countermeasures, counterpiracy or special operations missions.
NASSCO last month wrapped up a successful round of sea trials on the Puller, which included compass and steering testing, anchor handling, and operating shipboard systems, including the firefighting systems, Eckberg said.
The company currently is correcting deficiencies found on the ship, including fine-tuning the ship’s Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFF) firefighting system, he said. Once that’s finished, NASSCO employees will load the ship with tools and technical documents, start turning on shipboard systems and then hand the ship over to the crew.
“We’re in the midst of clearing all of those [issues] up. We’re on track for delivery,” he said.
The Navy is currently grappling with a shortfall of amphibious ships, and the service has been exploring whether it can use other vessels such as the afloat forward staging base to fill the void. Marine Maj. Gen. Robert Walsh, director of expeditionary warfare, has said the service could preposition ASFBs off the coast of critical areas, giving Marines persistent presence without needing to base them in a foreign country.
The Navy in 2014 awarded a $498 million contract to NASSCO for the second, currently unnamed AFSB. The vessel will be built at the company’s shipyard in San Diego, Calif., and construction is expected to be completed in 2018.