The US Navy has received the sixth San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship, San Diego (LPD 22), from Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at the Ingalls Shipbuilding facility.
The ship recently completed acceptance sea trials that validated its main propulsion, steering, communications suite and deck missions systems.
The 684ft-long, 105ft-wide San Diego has a displacement capacity of 24,900t, can accommodate 800 troops and is designed to provide combat support for the US Navy and US Marine Corps.
The San Antonio-class LPDs have been designed to provide the navy with sea-based platforms that are networked, survivable and built to operate with modern platforms, such as the MV-22 Osprey and the expeditionary fighting vehicle (EFV).
Combat capabilities incorporated onboard the ship include an advanced command-and-control suite, increased in-vehicle lift capability, cargo-carrying capacity and advanced ship-survivability features.
San Diego will be used to transport and deploy combat and support elements of marine expeditionary units and brigades for amphibious assault, special operations and expeditionary warfare missions.
The ship can also transport and deploy conventional landing craft and expeditionary fighting vehicles, augmented by helicopters or vertical take-off and landing aircraft.
Ingalls Shipbuilding’s vice-president and programme manager for the LPD 17 programme Doug Lounsberry said: "The US Navy sailors and Marines will have a safe, extremely reliable vessel… to provide them with the most capable ships in the fleet in which to perform their diverse mission."
HII has built and delivered the first six ships in the LPD 17-class to date while an additional four ships are currently under construction.
The new ship is scheduled to be commissioned in the spring of 2012.
