U.S. Navy's New High-Speed Transport Ships Cannot Stand Buffeting From High Seas

The Military Sealift Command joint high-speed vessel USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) - designed for rapid intra-theater transport of troops and military equipment. Source: U.S. Navy

Bloomberg: New Navy Ships Have Trouble Surviving the High Seas

* Austal's Expeditionary Fast Transport ships need bow repairs
* U.S. Navy adopted a flawed design to save weight, report finds

The U.S. Navy is spending millions of dollars to repair new high-speed transport ships built by Austal Ltd. because their weak bows can’t stand buffeting from high seas, according to the Pentagon’s chief weapons tester.

“The entire ship class requires reinforcing structure” to bridge the twin hulls of the all-aluminum catamarans because of a design change that the Navy adopted at Austal’s recommendation for the $2.1 billion fleet of Expeditionary Fast Transports, Michael Gilmore, the Defense Department’s director of operational test and evaluation, said in a report to Congress.

WNU Editor: This is one of those ooops moments.