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Naval Industry News - USA |
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Ingalls Shipbuilding Starts Fabrication on LPD 27, Company's 11th Ship
in the San Antonio Class |
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On
Monday Huntington Ingalls Industries began construction on the amphibious
transport dock LPD 27. The ship, being built at the company's Ingalls
Shipbuilding division, is the 11th ship in the USS San Antonio (LPD
17) class of ships.
"This is the 11th LPD in what has become a hot production line,"
said Doug Lounsberry, Ingalls' vice president, LPD program. "Lessons
learned and production improvements from all the previous LPDs have
been incorporated into LPD 26 and are being rolled over into LPD 27.
We've got excellent shipbuilders working on these ships, and their encouragement
and attention to detail continue to produce top-quality products for
our sailors and Marines." |
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San Antonio class amphibious transport dock USS Anchorage (LPD 23),
seventh ship of the class
(Picture:
Huntington Ingalls Industries)
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On July 27 Ingalls was awarded a $1.5 billion contract
to build LPD 27. The start of fabrication milestone marks the first
100 tons of steel being cut for units on the LPD 27. The next major
event is keel laying, currently scheduled for second quarter of 2013,
and delivery of LPD 27 is scheduled for mid-2017. Six of LPD 27's sister
ships, LPDs 17-22, have been delivered to the Navy while LPDs 23-26
are in various stages of construction. Somerset (LPD 25) was recently
christened at Avondale.
Ingalls is building the entire San Antonio class of ships, the newest
addition to the Navy's 21st century amphibious assault force. LPDs are
built to be survivable and flexible. The complex, survivable ships enable
the services to carry out their missions without constraints or additional
assets.
The LPD 17-class ships are 684 feet long and 105 feet wide and displace
approximately 25,000 tons. Their principal mission is to deploy the
combat and support elements of Marine Expeditionary Units and Brigades.
The ships can carry up to 800 troops and have the capability of transporting
and debarking air cushion (LCAC) or conventional landing crafts, augmented
by helicopters or vertical take-off and landing aircraft such as the
MV-22. The ships will support amphibious assault, special operations
or expeditionary warfare missions through the first half of the 21st
century.
The 11 ships of the LPD 17 class are a key element of the Navy's ability
to project power ashore. Collectively, they functionally replace more
than 41 ships (the LPD 4, LSD 36, LKA 113 and LST 1179 classes of amphibious
ships), providing the Navy and Marine Corps with modern, sea-based platforms
that are networked, survivable and built to operate with 21st century
platforms, such as the MV-22 Osprey.
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