USNS Maury (T-AGS 66) Delivered

From Team Ships Public Affairs

PASCAGOULA, Mo. (NNS) -- The Navy accepted USNS Maury (T-AGS 66) from builder VT Halter Marine Feb. 16.

The USNS Maury was designed to perform acoustic, biological, physical and geophysical surveys. The vessel will provide the U.S. military with essential information on the ocean environment.

"The Navy's acceptance of T-AGS 66 is the culmination of a dedicated team effort between the Navy and VT Halter," said Mike Kosar, the Support Ships, Boats, and Craft program manager for the Navy's Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships. "I look forward to learning of the new and innovative contributions to science and ocean exploration that USNS Maury and her crew will undoubtedly make over the next 30 years."

T-AGS 66 is named in honor of Cmdr. Matthew Fontaine Maury, known as the "Father of Modern Oceanography," and nicknamed, "Pathfinder of the Seas." He dedicated his life to the study of naval meteorology and oceanography, and made copious contributions to the charting of wind and ocean currents. USNS Maury will continue to contribute to his curiosity and thirst for ocean discovery and understanding.

The vessel is 353 feet in length with an overall beam of 58 feet. Maury is 24 feet longer than the previous T-AGS design to accommodate a moon pool for deployment and retrieval of autonomous underwater vehicles.

Maury will be operated by the Miitary Sealift Command (MSC). MSC consists of non-combatant, civilian crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships, chart ocean bottoms, conduct undersea surveillance, tactically preposition combat cargo at sea and move military equipment nd supplies used by deployed U.S. forces around the world.

As one of the Defense Department's largest acquisition organizations, PEO Ships is responsible for executing the development and procurement of all major surface combatants, amphibious ships, special mission and support ships, and special warfare craft.

Navy Accepts Delivery of LCS 3

From Naval Sea Systems Command Office of Corporate Communication

MARINETTE, Wis. (NNS) -- The Navy officially accepted delivery of the future USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) June 6 during a ceremony in Marinette, Wis.

Fort Worth is the third littoral combat ship (LCS) delivered to the Navy, and the second LCS of the steel, semi-planing monohull Freedom variant.

Prior to delivery, the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) conducted acceptance trials aboard LCS 3. INSURV found LCS 3 to be "highly capable, well-built and inspection ready," and recommended the vessel be accepted.

"Fort Worth showed significant improvement during her trials when compared to the first ship of the class, USS Freedom," said Rear Adm. James Murdoch, program executive officer for Littoral Combat Ships. "We've had two years to operate Freedom at sea, identifying typical, first-of-class deficiencies, learning lessons on her design and rolling those lessons into Fort Worth. That experience, plus the introduction of improved construction processes and shipbuilder facilities, greatly benefitted Fort Worth."

Delivery is the last shipbuilding milestone before commissioning, scheduled for Sept. 22 in Galveston, Texas. Once commissioned, Fort Worth will join sister ships USS Freedom (LCS 1) and USS Independence (LCS 2).

The Lockheed Martin team now has Milwaukee (LCS 5), Detroit (LCS 7), Little Rock (LCS 9), and Sioux City (LCS 11) under construction at the Marinette Marine Corp. shipyard in Marinette. Austal USA has Coronado (LCS 4), Jackson (LCS 6), Montgomery (LCS 8), Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10), and Omaha (LCS 12) in production at the company's shipyard in Mobile, Ala.

LCS is a high speed, agile, shallow-draft, focused-mission surface combatant designed for operation in near-shore environments yet fully capable of open-ocean operation. Fort Worth, a high-speed steel mono-hull ship, is designed to defeat asymmetric "anti-access" threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft. The 387-foot Fort Worth will be outfitted with reconfigurable payloads, called mission packages, which can be changed out quickly, and focus on three mission areas: mine countermeasures, surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare.

PEO LCS is responsible for delivering and sustaining credible littoral mission capabilities to the fleet and is working with industry to achieve steady production to increase production efficiencies and leverage cost savings. Delivering high-quality warfighting assets while balancing affordability and capability are key to supporting the nation's maritime strategy.