The first ship in the Navy’s scaled-back Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) program has successfully completed builder’s sea trials and is expected to be delivered to the fleet later this year.
The USNS Spearhead built by Austal USA finished the trials on Apr. 19 in Mobile, Ala., that included testing of the propulsion, communication and navigational systems among other components on the vessel designed to sail in theater to quickly transport troops, vehicles and equipment.
The JHSV-1 also underwent high speed turns to demonstrate stability of the catamaran hull form and reached a top speed of 35 knots.
Austal USA intends to complete any remaining “corrective actions” in the coming week ahead of acceptance trials. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) did not specify the additional work needed.
The Navy has sharply reduced the number of JHSVs to be built from what was originally planned. The fiscal 2013 budget request and five-year procurement plan outlined by the Navy earlier this year more than halved the number of vessels to be built to 10 (Defense Daily, Feb. 14, 2012).
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has said the service elected to slash the program to save money during a time of reduced budgets and didn’t want to divert money from large surface combatants to keep funding the JHSV. The fiscal 2013 budget proposal before Congress seeks $189 million for what would be the final vessel.