Huntington Ingalls Industries revealed that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division met the requirements for the electronic systems light-off of the US Navy’s amphibious transport dock Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28).
“Electronic systems light-off signifies that the network and consoles of the ship’s hull, mechanical and electrical systems are up and running,” Steve Sloan , LPD program manager for Ingalls Shipbuilding, said.
“This is a significant achievement in the construction timeline of the San Antonio-class LPD. We are proud of our crew for reaching this milestone, and we look forward to continuing to work toward the delivery of this strong and capable amphibious warship.”
The future USS Fort Lauderdale was launched at the shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, in late March this year. Once commissioned, it will become the navy’s 12th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship.
Ingalls has delivered 11 San Antonio-class ships to the US Navy and has three more under construction including Fort Lauderdale, Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29), and Harrisburg (LPD 30). In addition, Ingalls was awarded a $1.5 billion contract for the construction of LPD 31 in April.
The San Antonio class is the latest addition to the Navy’s 21 st 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.
The ships support a Marine Air Ground Task Force across the spectrum of operations, conducting amphibious and expeditionary missions of sea control and power projection to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions throughout the first half of the 21 st century.