Ingalls Awarded $1.46 Billion For Construction of Amphibious Transport Dock Fort Lauderdale
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced today that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division was awarded a $1.46 billion, fixed-price incentive contract for the detail design and construction of the amphibious transport dock Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28).
This contract demonstrates the confidence the Navy has in our shipbuilders’ performance in this program,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias. “Building LPD 28 allows the entire LPD industrial base to maintain a hot production line so that our sailors and Marines receive quality amphibious warships as efficiently and affordably as possible.”
Ingalls has built and delivered 10 ships in the San Antonio class of amphibious warships. The 11th, Portland (LPD 27), launched last year and is scheduled for sea trials in mid-2017.
LPD 28 is named Fort Lauderdale to honor the Florida city’s historic ties to the U.S. Navy, which date to the 1830s and include an important naval training center during World War II.
The
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. 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 21st century.
Comments by Navy Recognition:
LPD 28/LX(R) will replace the Navy’s Harpers Ferry- and Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships and will use the same hull as the San Antonio (LPD 17) class. Ingalls has delivered 10 of the LPD 17 ships to the Navy, is currently building the 11th, Portland (LPD 27).
During the Sea Air Space 2016 exposition back in May, Steve Sloan (the program manager at HII) told us the main design features HII and the US Navy worked on to reduce the cost of LPD 28 compared to the San Antonio class on which it is based:
- LPD 28 bow works is simplified
- Forward: LPD 17 composite mast is replaced with a steel mast based on the DDG 51 mast design (AN/SPQ-9B radar on top)
- Structures in the boat valley are removed
- Aft: LPD 17 composite mast is replaced with a mast similar to the one found aboard LHA 6 and 7 (AN/SPS-48 radar on top)
- Stern gate is open at the top
LPD 28 weapons fit is the same as LPD 17: 2x RIM-116 RAM launchers (21 missiles each) and 2x MK 46 (Bushmaster II) 30mm guns, fitted in the same location (at the stern and on top of the aviation hangar). The scale model at SNA also featured 2x SEWIP electronic warfare system (fitted on each side of the bridge) and 8x Nulka decoy launchers.
The scale model on display at Sea Air Space 2016 featured an important optional difference however: 16x Mk41 VLS cells. We were explained this optional feature is representative of how HII could answer possible future US Navy requirement in line with the distributed lethality concept.
