Scene on the Sound: The USAV Worthy

USAV Worthy. Photo by John Wolfe.

The USAV Worthy (T-AGOS-14) is a Missile Range Instrumentation Ship currently operated by the United States Army, classified as a Special Vessel / Military Ops, with equipment to detect ballistic missiles.

Originally, the USAV Worthy was a Stalwart-class Modified Tactical Auxiliary General Ocean Surveillance Ship of the United States Navy, launched in 1988.

Stalwart class ships were originally designed to collect underwater acoustical data in support of Cold War anti-submarine warfare operations in the 1980s. (Wikipedia)

USNS Worthy was struck from the Navy registry in 1993 and modified to be Kwajalein Mobile Range Safety System (KMRSS) Worthy, a missile range instrumentation ship at Kwajalein Atoll's Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site (RTS), operated by the United States Army. (Wikipedia)

The Kwajalein Mobile Range Safety System (KMRSS) is installed on the Worthy superstructure to support remote site launch activities. The Worthy also provides logistical and other instrumentation support for remote site operations.

The Worthy was also here in February.