The U.S. Navy has accepted delivery of the future Amphibious Transport Dock USS Portland (LPD-27) and future Littoral Combat Ship USS Omaha (LCS-12), the Navy said Monday.
LPD-27 completed acceptance trials last month and Huntington Ingalls Industries’ [HII] Ingalls Shipbuilding builder’s trials in July. This is the 11th San Antonio-class Amphibious Transport Dock the Navy has received (Defense Daily, Aug. 22).
San Antonio-class ships are used to embark and land Marines, their equipment, and supplies ashore through air cushion or conventional landing craft and amphibious assault vehicles. They can also accommodate vertical takeoff and landing aircraft like helicopters and the MV-22 Osprey.
Upon delivery, pre-commissioning unit sailors move aboard the ship to start training while the shipyard completes finishing work. They will also prepare the ship to sail away from its production site at Pascagoula, Miss. to its assigned homeport in San Diego, Calif.
The Portland is scheduled to be commissioned in the spring of 2018 at its namesake city of Portland, Ore.
Separately, the Navy accepted the future USS Omaha from an Austal USA-led team in a ceremony in Mobile, Ala. on Friday.
The Omaha is the 10th LCS delivered to the Navy and the sixth of the Independence variant.
“I look forward to celebrating the commissioning of this fine ship after she departs from Austal and embarks upon her post-delivery test and trials period,” LCS program manager Capt. Mike Taylor, said in a statement.
The ship is scheduled to be commissioned in early 2018 in San Diego, its future homeport.