U.S. Navy Seeks $177.7 Million for At-Sea Rearming Demonstration on Montford Point Ship

S. 7 million in its Fiscal Year 2027 budget for shipboard crane and cargo systems, with part of the funding allocated to complete a demonstration of At-Sea Reload of Vertical Launch System capability on the USNS Montford Point, designated ESD-1. The budget, released last month, also supports ongoing investigations into shipboard crane and cargo improvements, including T-AKE Expeditionary Reload and MK 41 Strike Up/Strike Down System.

U.S. Navy budget documents cited by @TheWarZoneWire. The funding will initiate improvements for Naval Strike Missile and MK 48 torpedo reloading systems, as well as start a Mobile Supply Platform demonstration effort.

In the current fiscal year, the Navy plans to continue demonstrating vertical launch system rearming and transfer capabilities, including initiating design and fabrication for the ASRV demonstration on ESD-1. The ASRV capability is described as a cost-effective solution for rearming vertical launch systems at sea, fully compatible with all cruiser-destroyer vessels and allied or partner Mk41-equipped ships.

CRUDES refers to the Navy’s Ticonderoga class cruisers and Arleigh Burke class destroyers.

The Transferrable Reload At-sea Method has been tested with Lewis and Clark class ships, including a 2024 demonstration where Navy personnel aboard the Ticonderoga class cruiser USS Chosin loaded a missile canister into a Mk 41 Vertical Launch System cell.

The Lewis and Clark class cargo ship USNS Washington Chambers participated in that 2024 TRAM test, as reported by @TheWarZoneWire. The Montford Point class ships, acquired by the Navy between 2013 and 2014, feature 25,000 square feet of open main deck area and are derived from the Alaska class oil tanker design.

These ships were designed for cargo transfer from alongside vessels and are cousins of the Lewis B. Puller class Expeditionary Sea Base ships. Four years ago, the Navy attempted to inactivate the Montford Point class but was blocked by Congress, and the two ships are currently on reduced operating status.

In their primary transfer dock configuration, the expeditionary transfer docks act as floating self-propelled piers, enabling materiel and personnel movement from cargo ships to shore via connectors like Landing Craft Air Cushion hovercrafts. They have special docking lanes allowing up to three LCACs to load or unload simultaneously.

During a 2014 exercise, an LCAC docked on the USNS Montford Point while two others were in the other lanes, and the ship was attached to the USNS Bob Hope with vehicles driving off via a ramp.

U.S. Marine Corps Assault Amphibious Vehicle departed the USNS Montford Point during the 2014 exercise. Land class submarine tenders, which can load missiles and torpedoes onto submarines at sea.

The Navy plans to order two new AS(X) submarine tenders in Fiscal Year 2027 to replace the aging Emory S. Land class. At the Surface Navy Association’s annual conference last year, Navy officials stated that warships in Red Sea operations had to leave stations for up to two weeks to rearm in friendly ports.

Since January, General Dynamics NASSCO has pitched an AD(X) vessel optimized for at-sea arming of surface warships, based on its AS(X) design, with a model shown at the Sea Air Space 2026 expo. Gibbs and Cox, a Leidos division, has proposed repurposing semi-submersible oil rigs as forward logistic nodes, missile defense platforms, and sea bases, presenting the MODEP concept at SNA 2025.