The last San Antonio-class Flight 1 amphibious transport dock ship completed acceptance trials, shipbuilder HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding[HII] said Monday.
Acceptance trials had the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) spend several days successfully running the future USS Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD-29) in exercises in the Gulf of Mexico. Ingalls is based in Pascagoula, Miss.
The company said it will now spend the following weeks finishing work on the ship in preparation for delivery this year.
LPD-29 is the last Flight 1 ship, with some modifications from the original design to serve as a transition ship to test changes worked out for the newer LPD Flight II line.
“We have had a successful trial and it is only through the efforts of our shipbuilders and our dedicated Navy and industry partners that we now move solely into the Flight II ships,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson said in a statement.
Ingalls has delivered 12 San Antonio-class ships so far. Besides LPD-29, the first two Flight II ships Harrisburg (LPD-30) and Pittsburgh (LPD-31), are also under construction.
Last year, the Navy awarded HII a $1.3 billion contract for the detail design and construction of the third LPD Flight II ships, the future USS Philadelphia (LPD-32) (Defense Daily, March 31, 2023).
While a DoD-imposed cost review caused the Navy to pause planning for additional LPDs in the FY 24 budget request, in recent months officials have indicated these amphibious ships are going to be part of the upcoming FY ‘25 budget request (Defense Daily, Feb. 21).
Last August, the Navy issued a notice that it intends to issue a solicitation to HII for three more San Antonio-class Flight II ships: LPD-33-35 (Defense Daily, Aug 9, 2023).
The Navy and HII have repeatedly agreed the ideal procurement rate for LPDs is one every two years, so if the next contract matches the solicitation the production line will continue to run at least through the end of the decade.