USNS Spearhead (T-EPF-1)
USNS "Spearhead" (JHSV-1/T-EPF-1) is the lead ship of the to be operated by the Military Sealift Command. USNS "Spearhead" was christened on 17 September 2011. Design. "Spearhead", as well as other ships of her class, are built to a modular design that allows them to be rapidly refitted with various equipment within a bay depending on the mission at hand. "Spearhead" is planned for non-combat missions, such as transportation of troops or equipment. "Spearhead" is long and in beam, and has a draft of . She has space for 41 crewmembers, though under normal  conditions will sail with 22, as well as sleeping accommodations for up to 150 people and an additional 312 seats for troop transport. She is powered by four MTU 20V8000 M71L engines, each with a power of , driving four Wärtsilä WLD 1400 SR waterjets through ZF 60000NR2H reduction gears. This allows for a maximum speed of and a service speed of . There are also facilities for one helicopter. Construction and career. Construction of "Spearhead" began on 22 July 2010, when the ship's keel was laid at the Austal facility in Mobile, Alabama in a ceremony that included officials from  the US Navy, the US Army, the state of Alabama and the city of Mobile. At the time, "Spearhead" was intended for service with the US Army in the 7th Sustainment Brigade as USAV "Spearhead". "Spearhead" was launched on 8 September 2011, though she did not enter the water until several days later; her launch was the moving of the vessel from the shed where she was constructed onto a floating drydock. At the time, she was scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in early 2012, a delay from the original target of September 2011. "Spearhead" was christened on  17 September 2011. Her sponsor was a former army officer, Kenneth Wahlman; as part of the ceremony, his daughter Catherine Wahlman (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Corps of Cadets class of 2013) broke a bottle of champagne across "Spearhead"'s bow. "Spearhead", after delivery to the Navy in early 2012, will undergo sea trials and tests, and in the first quarter of fiscal year 2013 is planned to begin operations, homeported at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek. She will be crewed by civilian mariners (merchant seaman) from the Military Sealift Command, and her first captain was Douglas D. Casavant , Jr. In August 2012 "Spearhead" made a "clean sweep" of her acceptance trials. "Spearhead" was formally delivered to the Navy on 5 December 2012, eight months late and $31 million over budget. She made her first deployment to Europe and Africa in early 2014, followed by a trip to Latin America. On 7 March 2014, "Spearhead" visited Liberia, where Marines conducted a rigid-hulled inflatable boat drill. On 12 June 2014, the "Spearhead" was conducting routine testing off the coast of Key West. In the early morning, lightning struck an aerostat that was tethered to the vessel. The strike  caused the aerostat to deflate and land in the water, where it sank. During operations in 2015, "Spearhead" experienced bow damage from rough seas requiring more than a half-million dollars (USD) to repair. It was determined that a design change that Austal recommended to the Navy late in the design phase to save weight has resulted in a weakened bow structure. The first five ships in the class will need to be returned to Austal to have upgrades done to improve the superstructure, at a cost of $1.2M each. The remaining ships which are still in various  stages of construction will be upgraded as well. External links.