The US Navy has accepted delivery of missile range instrumentation ship USNS 'Howard O Lorenzen'.
Constructed by VT Halter Marine in Pascagoula, Mississippi, the vessel will be the replacement for the existing USNS 'Observation Island', which was launched in 1953. The ship will provide worldwide, high-quality, dual-band radar data in support of ballistic missile treaty verification.
The ship was christened in June 2010 by the ship's sponsor, Susan Lorenzen Black, daughter of her namesake, the late Dr Howard O Lorenzen, a distinguished Naval Research Laboratory scientist. The delivery followed completion of acceptance trials in November 2011. The ship is currently at Kiewit Offshore Services in Corpus Christi, Texas, for planned radar installation, integration, and testing. The 12,575-tonne, 163-metre ship will be crewed and operated by Military Sealift Command (MSC).