The U.S. Navy has officially christened the future USNS Lansing (EPF 16) during a ceremony at Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, marking the completion of the Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport program. The milestone highlights continued U.S. investment in rapid sealift, intra-theater transport, and afloat medical support at a time when naval logistics are under increasing strain in both the Indo-Pacific and European theaters.
The christening, publicized by Military Sealift Command and Austal USA, signals the ship’s transition from construction into the testing and trials phase. As the sixteenth and final vessel in the Spearhead-class, Lansing underscores Washington’s focus on sustaining operational mobility rather than concentrating solely on high-end combat platforms. In an era of growing maritime competition, the ceremony reinforces the strategic importance of logistics ships that enable distributed and sustained naval operations.
USNS Lansing is the third Spearhead-class ship built in the enhanced Flight II configuration, which adds dedicated medical facilities to the class’s high-speed transport mission. Constructed on an aluminum catamaran hull, the ship measures approximately 103 meters in length and features a shallow draft that allows access to austere ports and littoral areas inaccessible to larger vessels. Powered by four MTU diesel engines driving waterjets, Lansing can exceed 35 knots, providing rapid response and flexible movement across regional theaters.
A defining feature of the ship is its large, reconfigurable mission bay, offering around 20,000 square feet of space for vehicles, containers, and palletized cargo. This is complemented by a flight deck capable of supporting large helicopters and, in the Flight II variant, tiltrotor aircraft such as the MV-22 and CMV-22. Together, these capabilities give USNS Lansing a unique combination of speed, cargo capacity, and aviation flexibility, reinforcing its role as a critical enabler of modern naval logistics and humanitarian support missions.
