Austal USA recently laid the keel of the future USNS Apalachicola, the 13th Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport (EPF) ordered by the US Navy.
The 103-metre EPF will be the second US Navy vessel to be named after the city of Apalachicola, Florida.
Like other Spearhead-class EPFs, the future Apalachicola will be capable of transporting up to 300 embarked troops and their equipment as well as performing humanitarian aid and disaster relief (HADR) duties, command and control, and special warfare support missions.
