TSAMTO, June 21. The US Department of Defense announced the signing by the US Navy Shipbuilding and Armament Command with Ingalls Shipbuilding (a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries) of an additional contract for the purchase of equipment with long production times, the development of a working draft and the construction of the LPD-32 DVKD.
The cost of the agreement is $240 million. The work will be carried out at enterprises in Pascagoula (pcs.Mississippi, 35%), White (pcs.Wisconsin, 15%), Menomonee Falls (pcs.Wisconsin, 12%), Ayer (pcs.Massachusetts, 6%), King of Prussia (pcs.Pennsylvania, 5%), Tulsa (Oklahoma, 5%), Brunswick (Georgia, 4%), York (pcs.Pennsylvania (4%), High Ridge (pcs.Missouri, 3%), Irvine (pcs.Pennsylvania, 3%), Sumter (pcs.South Carolina, 3%), Walpole (pcs.Massachusetts, 3%), Mascantine (pcs.Iowa, 2%) and is expected to be completed in December 2024.
This amendment to the contract N00024-18-C-2406 includes options, if implemented, its total value will increase to $1.560 billion. In this case, the work will continue until March 2031.
The vessel will become the 16th DVKD of the San Antonio class and the third vessel of the LPD-17 Flight II class. The DVKD will be used to perform a wide range of tasks – from participation in hostilities to humanitarian assistance and assistance to victims of natural disasters.
As reported by TSAMTO, the implementation of the program for the construction of the San Antonio-class DVKD began in 1993 and initially provided for the supply of 11 ships to the US Navy, which should replace the outdated LPD-4, LSD-36, LKA-113 and LST-1179 class transports. Later, it was decided to place orders for the construction of two more San Antonio-class DVKDs – LPD-28 Fort Lauderdale and LPD-29 Richard M McCool Jr.
In March 2019, Ingalls Shipbuilding signed a contract with the US Navy to develop a working design and build the first vessel of the LPD-17 Flight II version – LPD-30 Harrisburg. The cost of this agreement was $1.47 billion. Steel cutting for LPD-30 began in April 2020. On April 3, 2020, a contract worth $1.508 billion was signed with the company for the development of a working project and the construction of the LPD-31. The LPD-17 Flight II will replace the LSD-41 Whidbey Island/LSD-49 Harpers Ferry class amphibious dock transports in service.
The lead ship of the LPD-17 series was transferred to the US Navy in 2005. To date, 12 DVKDs have been adopted by the US Navy: San Antonio (LPD-17), New Orleans (LPD-18), Mesa Verde (LPD-19), Green Bay (LPD-20), New York (LPD-21), San Diego (LPD-22), Anchorage (LPD-23), Arlington (LPD-24), Somerset (LPD-25), John P. Murtagh (LPD-26), Portland (LPD-27) and Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28).
Ingalls Shipbuilding also has an LPD-29 Richard M McCool Jr. and an LPD-30 Harrisburg under construction. Construction of the 15th San Antonio-class ship, the Pittsburgh (LPD-31), will begin at the end of 2022.
