US Navy aims for expeditious MCM host alternative
The US Navy plans to begin testing a Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) mine countermeasures (MCM) mission package (MP) on an Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) this summer to determine the feasibility of using ESBs to perform such missions.
The ‘integration event’ will take place on the USNS Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams (ESB-4), said Colleen O’Rourke, a spokeswoman for Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). ESB-4 is a new, 784ft-long mobile sea base built by General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) and operated by the navy’s Military Sealift Command.
While LCS, a small surface combatant, is the main platform for the
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