The class comprises fifteen oilers which are operated by Military Sealift Command to provide underway replenishment of fuel to United States Navy combat ships and jet fuel for aircraft aboard aircraft carriers at sea.

[4] One ship, operated by the United States from 1987 to 1996, was sold to Chile in 2009 and commissioned into the Chilean Navy in 2010.

Patuxent, Laramie, and Rappahannock differ from the other 15 ships, in having double hulls to meet the requirements of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

This study concluded that such a conversion was cost-prohibitive and the ships were placed in long-term storage in an incomplete condition.

The first nine ships were named for American shipbuilders, inventors, naval architects, and aeronautical engineers who played important roles in the history of the U.S. Navy.

After joining the fleet, the 16 completed ships all saw active service between 1986 and 1996, when Andrew J. Higgins became the first unit of the class to be laid up.