U.S. Navy has accepted delivery of its newest Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary sea base, USS Hector A. Cafferata Jr. (ESB-8), from General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego, on August 25. The vessel’s keel was laid at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, California on April 25, 2024, and she was christened on March 7 this year.ESBs are highly flexible mobile sea-based platforms designed to support a variety of maritime-based missions, and are a part of the critical access infrastructure that supports the deployment of forces, equipment, supplies, and warfighting capabilities.