USNS ''Waters'' (T-AGS-45) is a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

vessel tasked with supporting

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

navigation-system testing and providing

ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...

flight test Flight testing is a branch of aeronautical engineering that develops specialist equipment required for testing aircraft behaviour and systems. Instrumentation systems are developed using proprietary transducers and data acquisition systems. D ...

support services. In 2011, it was homeported in

Port Canaveral, Florida Port Canaveral is a cruise, cargo, and naval port in Brevard County, Florida, Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world with 4.5 million cruise passengers passing through during 2016. Over 5.4 m ...

Features

''Waters'' is operated by

Military Sealift Command Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...

to provide an operating platform and services for unique U.S. military and federal government missions. Special missions ships work for several different U.S. Navy customers, including

Naval Sea Systems Command The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is the largest of the United States Navy's five "systems commands," or materiel (not to be confused with "material") organizations. From a physical perspective, NAVSEA has four shipyards for shipbuilding, c ...

Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWARSYSCOM), based in San Diego, is one of six SYSCOM Echelon II organizations within the United States Navy and is the Navy's technical authority and acquisition command for C4ISR (Command, Contr ...

and the

Oceanographer of the Navy The Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (COMNAVMETOCCOM) or CNMOC, serves as the operational arm of the Naval Oceanography Program. Headquartered at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, CNMOC is an echelon three command reporting to ...

Background

''Waters'' was originally an oceanographic survey ship, built by the

Avondale Shipyard Avondale Shipyard was an independent shipbuilding company, acquired by Litton Industries, in turn acquired by Northrop Grumman Corporation. In 2011, along with the former Ingalls Shipbuilding, the yard was part of Huntington Ingalls Industries. It ...

and delivered to the US Navy in 1993. Under the sponsorship of the Strategic Systems Program Office, ''Waters'' was converted in 1998 by Detyens Shipyard to support submarine navigation system testing and ballistic missile flight test support services. Waters began operating in the fall of 1999, replacing USNS ''Vanguard'' (T-AG 194), a submarine navigation system test platform ship, deactivated in 1998; and USNS ''Range Sentinel'' (T-AGM 22), a flight test navigation support ship deactivated in 1997.

References

External links

Website
at MSC Ship Inventory

at NavSource.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Waters (T-Ags-45) Research vessels of the United States Navy 1992 ships