Home LifeStyle USNS Cody: U.S. Navy’s Groundbreaking Medically-Capable Spearhead Fast Transport Ship Sets Sail

USNS Cody: U.S. Navy’s Groundbreaking Medically-Capable Spearhead Fast Transport Ship Sets Sail

LifeStyle — 04/15/2024

We heard that the U.S. Navy was about to get three brand-new mobile hospitals at the end of December 2023. These are the Expeditionary Medical Ships (EMS) that Austal is building. However, the military has asked for other medically-equipped ships as well.The EMSs are built on a platform that Austal calls the Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF). It’s what the Navy’s high-payload transport and operations support systems are built on, and 13 of them are currently in use.

It’s called the USNS Cody (EPF-14), and it was just given to the Navy earlier this month to start its work. But this one is a little different from the ones that came before it.

The Cody is the first ship in a line that will be called Flight II. It means that it could be used as a hospital if needed, in addition to being a way to get people to and from places.

Not only that, but the ship was built to have two surgery rooms, a pharmacy, a blооd bank, and even a lab. Besides that, Flight II EPFs will be able to help V22 Osprey aircraft land and can also launch and recover rigid inflatable boats (RHIBs) that are 11 meters (36 feet) long.

As for the ship, it is part of a scheme called Spearhead that began 14 years ago. There are four MTU diesel engines that run it. It is 103 meters (337 feet) long. It can carry up to 312 soldiers, and at speeds of 49 mph (79 kph), it will get them to their locations, which could be up to 1,380 miles (2,200 km away). The ship can take 600 short tons of cargo when it is set up normally.

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As part of the Spearhead effort, 16 of these ships need to be built. The last two are already being built at the Austal port in Mobile, Alabama. The 16th stage still doesn’t have a nаme, but EPF-15 will be called USNS Point Loma. Each of the ships being built for this project costs more than $200 million.

At the christening of the USNS Cody, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer said, “the people of Cody are staunch supporters of a strong Navy and Marine Corps team.” The ship was named after the city of Cody, Wyoming.

When it comes to the EPF-based dedicated floating hospitals, they will be able to carry all the equipment needed to hold, stabilize, evacuate, and move patients. Helicopters, like the V-22 Osprey and CH-53K, will also be able to land there. These EPFs, on the other hand, will not have any gu𝚗s on board.