The U.S. Navy’s new target ship has been delivered to the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) of Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) in California.
The Mobile Ship Target (MST-2), was built and then launched in July last year by Gunderson Marine in Portland, Oregon. It has recently arrived at the NAVAIR facility in Port Hueneme, just north of Los Angeles.
Now NAWCWD teams are busy installing a remote-control system on the vessel ahead of it being used for live-fire tests for weapons launched from ships and aircraft.
Threat Target Systems Department director Kevin Gross said: “Once complete, the MST will give us a safe, repeatable way to run some of the toughest weapons tests the fleet depends on.”
The new MST platform, whose size, speed and reconfigurable design are optimised for long-term use, is expected to come into operational use later this year, as per a NAVAIR statement.
NAWCWD’s commander Rear Adm. Keith Hash commented: “This is about giving sailors and marines confidence. When they go into harm’s way, they need to trust their systems completely. The MST lets us prove that trust under the most realistic conditions possible.”
- You can read more details on the NAVAIR website