HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division has started the fabrication of the US Navy’s newest San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Philadelphia (LPD 32).
As disclosed, the start of fabrication signifies that the first 100 tons of steel have been cut for the ship. USS Philadelphia, a Flight II San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, will be the 16th ship in the San Antonio class and the seventh vessel to bear this name.
Amphibious transport docks are a major part of the navy’s expeditionary force, deployed with a US Marine Corps Air-Ground Task Force for amphibious and expeditionary crisis response operations.
Ingalls is the sole provider of LPD 17 San Antonio-class ships and has delivered LPDs 17 through 29 to date.
Currently, Ingalls has three Flight II LPDs under construction, including USS Harrisburg (LPD 30), USS Pittsburgh (LPD 31) , and USS Philadelphia.
USS Harrisburg, the first Flight II LPD, was launched in October last year, and a christening ceremony for the vessel was held in January this year.
Additionally, in September 2024, the US Navy awarded Ingalls a contract for the construction of three San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships (LPD 33, LPD 34, and LPD 35).
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“From the earliest planning stages to the first cut of steel, every step of construction so far has been focused on building a capable ship for our Navy and Marine Corps partners,” said Stephen Janowski , Ingalls Shipbuilding amphibious ship program manager.