HII launches new San Antonio-class vessel
The Harrisburg being launched by the Ingalls team. (Photo: HII)
The Harrisburg (LPD 30) will be the 14th vessel in the San Antonio-class.
HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division has launched its new LPD Flight II, San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship, the Harrisburg (LPD 30).
The Harrisburg comes as the newest ship in a long line: HII has so far delivered 13 previous San Antonio-class amphibious ships to the US Navy, and the Harrisburg will be followed by the Pittsburgh in due course. In fact, there will eventually be 13 LPD Flight II vessels in the fleet, mirroring the Flight I provision.
The San Antonio-class vessels can conduct a wide variety of missions, including amphibious assault, special operations and expeditionary warfare. They can operate independently or as part of Amphibious Readiness Groups (ARGs), Expeditionary Strike Groups or Joint Task Forces.
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All that versatility comes at a cost, though, with many in the class costing US$1.6 billion per ship (almost twice the original quoted unit price of $890 million). That overspend is set to be reined in at least slightly after the Harrisburg though, with future vessels in the class expected to be delivered for $1.4 billion apiece.
The Ingalls team translated the Harrisburg from land to the company’s floating dry dock using translation railcars to support the ship’s movement across the pier. While in the dry dock, the team completed final preparatory work required ahead of the launch.
The launch of LPD 30 follows the recent announcement of the amphibious multi-ship procurement contract for the construction of three San Antonio-class (LPD 17) amphibious ships [LPD 33-35] and a contract modification for the next America-class (LHA 6) large-deck amphibious ship [LHA 10].
Ingalls currently has two Flight II LPDs under construction, the Harrisburg and the Pittsburgh. Pre-construction work is currently underway on the Philadelphia, which will be the 16th ship in the San Antonio class.
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