Austal USA launched the U.S Navy’s Auxiliary Floating Dry Dock Medium (AFDM) 15 on July 28, 2026. This is the first dry dock medium built in more than 4 decades and also the biggest vessel that the shipyard has launched in its 26-year operational history, and also its test and activation team’s biggest challenge.
It weighs 12,000 tons, is 694 ft long and has a working area on the deck spanning around 90,800 square feet. The platform is 157 ft wide and 65 m high from baseline to the wing deck.
During the launch, the AFDM 15 was taken from its assembly site in the Alabama Shipyard to the dry dock on Saturday, July 25, 2026.
The dry dock was then flooded, and the platform was then towed or launched into the river on Tuesday, July 28, 2026.
This was possible only because of the joint efforts by Austal USA’s different teams, including its engineers, crane and rigging operators and test and activation specialists.
The shipyard also recognised and appreciated
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