Breaking news
SAS 2016: NASSCO Second Expeditionary Base Mobile ESB Ship to be Fully V-22 Compatible.
| 2016
 ESB scale model on GD NASSCO's stand at Sea Air Space 2016 |
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Main
modifications for the ESB to accomodate Ospreys include deck coating (to
cope with engine exhaust) and modified hangar doors. In total, the Military
Sealift Command will get three ESB ships. An ESB is a 784-foot ship configured with a 52,000 square-foot flight deck, fuel and equipment storage, repair spaces, magazines, mission planning spaces and accommodations for up to 250 personnel. The ship is capable of supporting multiple missions including Air Mine Counter Measures (AMCM), counter-piracy operations, maritime security operations, humanitarian aid and disaster relief missions and U.S. Marine Corps crisis response. It may support MH-53 and MH-60 helicopters, as well as V-22 tilt rotor aircraft. In 2011, General Dynamics NASSCO was awarded a contract from the Navy to design and build two Mobile Landing Platforms (MLP), the USNS Montford Point (ESD 1) and USNS John Glenn (ESD 2). MLP was recently reclassified by the Navy as Expeditionary Transfer Docks (ESD). In 2012, a third MLP, the USNS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 1), was added to the contract and reconfigured as an ESB, or formerly known as a MLP Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB). All three ships have been delivered by NASSCO to the U.S. Navy. |
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