The US Navy has awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division a $165.5 million advance procurement contract to provide long-lead-time material and advance construction activities for LPD 30.
LPD 30 will be the first Flight II landing platform in the San Antonio-class.
“This is a significant milestone as we embark toward a new flight of LPDs,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias. “The Flight II LPDs will be highly capable ships meeting the requirements and needs of our Navy-Marine Corps team. We look forward to delivering this series of affordable LPDs to our nation’s fleet of amphibious ships.”
The funds from this contract will be used to purchase long-lead-time material and major equipment, including main engines, diesel generators, deck equipment, shafting, propellers, valves and other systems.
Ingalls has delivered 11 San Antonio-class (LPD 17) ships to the navy and has two more ships under construction. The keel for Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) was laid last October, and fabrication has begun on the 13th ship in the class, Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29). Start of fabrication on LPD 30 is scheduled for 2020.
The navy’s requirement to replace the retiring LSD 41/49 class of amphibious ships will be met by developing and acquiring the second flight of the current LPD 17 class, beginning with LPD 30. The additional capabilities of LPD Flight II will support new and emerging US Marine Corps and Navy requirements such as the ship-to-shore connector, CH-53K helicopter and improved troop armory/weapons stowage.
The San Antonio class is a major part of the Navy’s 21st century amphibious assault force. The 684-foot-long, 105-foot-wide ships are used to embark and land Marines, their equipment and supplies ashore via air cushion or conventional landing craft and amphibious assault vehicles, augmented by helicopters or vertical takeoff and landing aircraft such as the MV-22 Osprey.