The Navy plans to deploy its first Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) to the area of operations under U.S. Southern Command, on what will be its first major overseas mission, in fiscal 2014, the Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Jonathan Greenert said Friday.
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| The USNS Spearhead. Photo by U.S. Navy |
The JHSVs were designed for in-theater troops and equipment transport, but Greenert said further evaluation of the vessels has concluded that their missions could be expanded to other roles, such as operating as command and control centers and engaging in maritime law enforcement.
The first of the JHSVs, the USNS Spearhead, was delivered to the Navy in December and is slated to deploy under Southern Command for a variety of missions, Greenert told reporters at the Pentagon.
“The kind of missions that Southern Command is looking for, theater security cooperation, being able to move in and teach other countries things that they are interested in, and then do maritime law enforcement,” are among the capabilities of the vessels, Greenert said. “This ship resonates. I think it is going to be great out there.
The Navy plans to buy 10 JHSVs from builder Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., a dozen fewer than it had originally planned. The vessels will be operated by a civilian crew of 22.
The JHSV is a 338-foot-long aluminum catamaran. It has a mission bay of roughly 20,000 square feet and can move 600 tons of cargo at more than 35 knots while carrying over 300 combat-ready Marines.