Navy's Huge Expeditionary Sea Bases Could Become Drone Motherships
Story by Emma Helfrich • Yesterday 8:11 PM
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), a division of General Dynamics, has pitched some significant modifications to the U.S. Navy's Expeditionary Sea Bases (ESB), which is an existing highly flexible class of ship based on a modified oil tanker that supports the forward deployment of various forces. The proposed enhancements were conceptualized to address emerging U.S. Navy requirements and include the notable addition of an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) bay.
NASSCO first debuted the modifications during the Sea Air Space Symposium in 2022, but the company once again highlighted them at this year’s Surface Navy Association National Symposium, which ended last week. Along with the introduction of this new UUV launch-and-recovery system (LARS), the company is also proposing an aft flight deck to support unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations specifically and an unrelated ability to accommodate F-35Bs under certain scenarios.
Expeditionary sea bases USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4) and USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3) sail together in the Gulf of Aden. Credit: U.S. Army Photo by Spc. Frederick Poirier
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/navy-s-huge-expeditionary-sea-bases-could-become-drone-motherships/ar-AA16pQY6?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=0f1d686edb854e49a0f29c92a984d71a
