Keel laying ceremony for future ESB USS John L. Canley.

According to information published by the U.S. DoD on May 2, 2022, the keel for the future USS John L. Canley (ESB 6), the Navy’s fourth Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB), was laid at General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (GD-NASSCO) shipyard in San Diego.
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Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base USS Miguel Keith (Picture source: U.S. Navy)

Expeditionary Sea Base ships are highly flexible platforms used across a broad range of military operations supporting multiple operational phases. Acting as a mobile sea base, they are a part of the critical access infrastructure that supports the deployment of forces and supplies to provide prepositioned equipment and sustainment with adaptable distribution capability.

These ships support Aviation Mine Countermeasure and Special Operations Force missions. In addition to the flight deck, the ESB has a hangar with two aviation operating spots capable of handling MH-53E equivalent helicopters, accommodations, workspaces, and ordnance storage for embarked force, enhanced command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I).

These ships support embarked force mission planning and execution and has a reconfigurable mission deck area to store embarked force equipment, including mine sleds and Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs).

In 2019, the Navy decided to commission all Expeditionary Sea Base ships to allow them to conduct a broader and more lethal mission set compared to original plans for them to operate with a USNS designation. A Navy O-6 commands ESBs and a hybrid-manned crew of military personnel and Military Sealift Command civilian mariners. This crew makeup provides combatant commanders with increased operational flexibility in employing the platform.

Construction of the future USS Robert E. Simanek (ESB 7) and the Navy's John Lewis Class Fleet Replenishment Oilers (T-AO) are ongoing at GD-NASSCO.

USS John L. Canley (ESB-6) will be the fourth Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base (ESB) of the United States Navy.

Their aviation facilities include a 52,000 sq ft (4,800 m2) flight deck[16] with landing spots for two heavy-lift transport CH-53 helicopters, as well as additional deck space for two more CH-53s.

Lewis B. Puller will also have a helicopter hangar, an ordnance storage magazine, underway replenishment facilities, and deck space for mission-related equipment storage.