The move to transfer custody of all five Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSV) to the U.S. Navy was formally agreed upon May 2 with the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the Navy and U.S. Army.
The transfer was approved in December during Army-Navy war fighter talks. Previously, each service was planning to buy, field and crew its own force of JHSVs.
Uniformed Army personnel had been training to crew the new ships, with the first vessel scheduled to enter service late this year. Army watercraft personnel have been reassigned, and all JHSVs will be operated by the Navy's Military Sealift Command crewed by civil service mariners or contract mariners.
The ships are intended primarily for logistic operations, although they will be armed for self-defense. The aluminum, wave-piercing catamaran JHSVs are under construction by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., based on a commercial ferry design.
In addition to the Navy and Army, the ships are intended for use by "multiple non-Navy customers," according to the memorandum.
The JHSV program was formed in 2006 from a merger of the Army's Theater Support Vessel and the Navy High-Speed Connector programs. The Navy has been handling design, contracting and oversight of the program.
The Army operates a sizeable fleet, including landing craft, tugs and barges to support waterborne logistic operations. At the instigation of the then-Army chief of staff, Gen. George Casey, the services last year discussed the potential transfer of all Army watercraft to the Navy, but in the end only the JHSVs will be transferred.
The Spearhead, first of the JHSVs, has been named by the Army and is scheduled to be delivered in December. The agreement notes that the Spearhead's name will be retained by the Navy, but the Navy can rename the other JHSVs should it choose.
The JHSV program currently envisions a total of 10 ships, but planners have envisioned a greater role for the vessels, and the number may grow to as many as 23.
The transfer was approved in December during Army-Navy war fighter talks. Previously, each service was planning to buy, field and crew its own force of JHSVs.
Uniformed Army personnel had been training to crew the new ships, with the first vessel scheduled to enter service late this year. Army watercraft personnel have been reassigned, and all JHSVs will be operated by the Navy's Military Sealift Command crewed by civil service mariners or contract mariners.
The ships are intended primarily for logistic operations, although they will be armed for self-defense. The aluminum, wave-piercing catamaran JHSVs are under construction by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., based on a commercial ferry design.
In addition to the Navy and Army, the ships are intended for use by "multiple non-Navy customers," according to the memorandum.
The JHSV program was formed in 2006 from a merger of the Army's Theater Support Vessel and the Navy High-Speed Connector programs. The Navy has been handling design, contracting and oversight of the program.
The Army operates a sizeable fleet, including landing craft, tugs and barges to support waterborne logistic operations. At the instigation of the then-Army chief of staff, Gen. George Casey, the services last year discussed the potential transfer of all Army watercraft to the Navy, but in the end only the JHSVs will be transferred.
The Spearhead, first of the JHSVs, has been named by the Army and is scheduled to be delivered in December. The agreement notes that the Spearhead's name will be retained by the Navy, but the Navy can rename the other JHSVs should it choose.
The JHSV program currently envisions a total of 10 ships, but planners have envisioned a greater role for the vessels, and the number may grow to as many as 23.
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