Austal Delivers USNS Choctaw County (JHSV 2)

The second Austal-built Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV), USNS Choctaw County (JHSV 2), was officially delivered to the Navy today, exactly six months following the delivery of USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) on December 6, 2012. The USNS Choctaw County successfully completed Acceptance Trials in May and will sail away later this summer.

Austal USA President, Craig Perciavalle, had this to say regarding the delivery of Austal’s second-in-class JHSV: "The delivery of the USNS Choctaw County is a significant achievement for Austal and a proud day for the talented Austal JHSV shipbuilding team."

He further complimented Austal’s shipbuilders by stating, "Our ability to improve cost and schedule performance, and deliver this ship on schedule, is a testament to the incredible men and women building these great ships."

The 338-foot-long aluminum catamarans are designed to be fast, flexible and maneuverable even in shallow waters, making them ideal for transporting troops and equipment quickly within a theater of operations. The ship has the ability to support a variety of operations, supporting the warfighter through traditional logistics missions, humanitarian support projects, disaster response or by supporting maritime law enforcement activities.

Austal USA is a full-service shipyard offering design, construction and aluminum vessel service and repair. As Austal USA continues to expand its service and repair capabilities, the company is well-positioned for new business with engineering, test and trials capabilities, and a new waterfront facility on the Mobile Bay waterfront.

With the delivery of JHSV 2, Austal is currently under contract with the U.S. Navy to build eight 103-meter JHSVs under a 10-ship, $1.6 billion contract and seven 127-meter Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship class vessels, six of which are a part of a 10-ship, $3.5 billion contract for which Austal is the prime.

For the LCS and JHSV programs, Austal, as prime contractor, is teamed with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics. For the JHSV program, General Dynamics is responsible for the design, integration and testing of the ship’s navigation and communication systems, C4I and aviation systems. As the Independence-variant LCS ship systems integrator, General Dynamics is responsible for the design, integration and testing of the ship’s sea frame control, navigation and communication systems, C4I and aviation systems.