Navy Develops New Class of Oilers

The U.S. Navy is surging through the early stages of development to build a new class of replenishment oilers able to replace the aging current fleet starting in 2020, service officials said.

Called TAO-X, the new fleet of oilers will include a new ship design engineered to accommodate the commercial-off-the-shelf technologies, said Frank McCarthey, program manager for Support Ships, Boats and Craft.

“The oilers re-supply Navy ships such as the combatants and the aircraft carriers. They provide jet fuel for the carriers and fuel for the engines on destroyers, frigates, auxiliary ships as well as the amphibious fleet,” said McCarthey.

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