Austal USA wins $867.6 million order for three Expeditionary Medical Ships

New Expeditionary Medical Ships will be known as the Bethesda class. [Image: Austal]

Austal USA, Mobile, Ala., has been awarded an $867,666,667 modification to a previously awarded U.S. Navy contract (N00024-19-C-2227) for the detail design, and construction of three Expeditionary Medical Ships, an Expeditionary Fast Transport variant.

Work is expected to complete by May 2030. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

“This award is further evidence of the Navy’s confidence in Austal USA to produce highly-capable, shallow-draft aluminum multi-hull vessels,” said acting Austal USA president Michelle Kruger. “We are proud to provide this innovative critical care capability to the men and women who defend our country.“

In a stock exchange announcement, Paddy Gregg, CEO of Austal USA’s parent, Austal Limited (ASX:ASB), noted that the contract enables the final detailed design for the Expeditionary Medical Ship to be completed and construction of three vessels to commence.

“The new Expeditionary Medical Ship further extends the capabilities of the proven Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) platform, designed and constructed by Austal, to enable more complex medical procedures and operations to be performed onboard, at sea and underway,” Gregg said. “These three new EMS will enhance the U.S. Navy’s capability to provide effective medical and surgical support anywhere in the world, quickly, safely and efficiently.”

BETHESDA CLASS

Back in May, Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro announced that the lead ship in the Expeditionary Medical Ship class will be named USNS Bethesda (EMS 1) after the Navy’s Bethesda Medical Center and that the class will be called the Bethesda Class.

“This first-in-class ship will be state-of-the-art and the Navy’s first medical ship in 35 years,” said Del Toro in making the announcement. “This ship, designed with more expeditious and direct access to diagnostic, specialty and hospital care, will allow for increased capabilities and health care. Just as the hospital at NSA Bethesda has served as a beacon of hope to those who entered its doorways, USNS Bethesda (EMS 1) will serve as a beacon to those in need around the world.”

The Bethesda-class ships are designed as a dedicated medical ship that optimizes hospital-level medical care in support of distributed maritime operations (DMO). The EMS will feature a shallow draft enabling greater reach and allowing direct access to shallow austere ports, while also providing a flight deck that accommodates military helicopters. This design provides a full range of medical capabilities including triage/critical care, three operating rooms, medical laboratory, radiological capability, blood bank, dental, mental health, OB/GYN and primary care, rapid stabilization and follow-on evacuation of multiple casualties and combat search and rescue including recovery at sea. The primary mission of the EMS as a high-speed forward deployed medical ship is to provide rapid responsive sea-based and near-shore hospital level critical care, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, non-combatant evacuation operations and special operations. The EMS is designed to respond and provide care at a more rapid pace than their predecessors, USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort, sailing at speeds of at least 30 knots with a range of 5,500 nautical miles at 24 knots.

Austal USA has delivered 13 EPFs to the Navy and is preparing to deliver the first EPF Flight II, the future USNS Cody (EPF 14), which features enhanced Role 2E medical capability (see earlier story), and has two more Flight II vessels under construction.