Austal USA Christens USNS Burlington

The U.S. Navy and Austal USA christened the expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Burlington (EPF 10) on Saturday. 

USNS Burlington is the tenth of 12 expeditionary fast transport ships that Austal has under contract with the U.S. Navy for a combined value of over $1.9 billion. USNS City of Bismarck was delivered to the Navy in late 2017, and three more of the ships are under construction at Austal’s Mobile shipyard.

With an all-aluminum shallow-draft hull, the USNS Burlington is a commercial-based catamaran capable of intra-theater personnel and cargo lift providing combatant commanders high-speed sealift mobility with inherent cargo handling capability and agility to achieve positional advantage over operational distances. 

The ships are designed to transport 600 short tons of military cargo 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots. The ship is capable of operating in shallow-draft ports and waterways, interfacing with roll-on/roll-off discharge facilities, and on/off-loading a combat-loaded Abrams main battle tank (M1A2). 

They includes a flight deck for helicopter operations and an off-load ramp that will allow vehicles to quickly drive off the ship. The ship's shallow draft (under 15 feet) further enhances littoral operations and port access. This makes the ship a flexible asset for support of a wide range of operations including maneuver and sustainment, relief operations in small or damaged ports, flexible logistics support or as the key enabler for rapid transport. 

The future USNS Burlington will be the first ship in naval service to honor Burlington, Vermont’s largest city. The first Navy ship Burlington (PF-51) was named for Burlington, Iowa and served during WWII.