The US Navy christened its final expeditionary sea base (ESB) ship, the future USNS Hector A. Cafferata Jr., during a ceremony at General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego on Saturday, March 7.
The ship is named in honour of US Marine Corps Private Hector A. Cafferata Jr., a Medal of Honor recipient recognised for his heroism at the Battle of Chosin during the Korean War.
The US Navy's ESBs are optimised to support a variety of maritime-based missions including: special operations forces support; airborne mine countermeasures; crisis response force sea basing; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; and unmanned aviation systems support.
The ESBs each include a four spot V-22-sized flight deck, mission deck and hangar and are designed around four core capabilities: aviation facilities, berthing, equipment staging support, and command and control assets.
Upon completion, the future Hector A. Cafferata Jr. will have a length of 785 feet (239 metres) and a diesel-electric propulsion system that will deliver a service speed of 15 knots and a range of 9,500 nautical miles.
Some ESBs have been given the USS prefix instead of USNS to indicate that they have been commissioned as US Navy warships with all-navy crews. The navy said the re-designation allows for "greater mission flexibility" in accordance with international laws covering armed conflict.
