HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division has started fabricating the US Navy’s future USS Pittsburgh landing platform/dock vessel (LPD 31).
The ship’s commencement was marked by cutting its first 100 tons (91,000 kilograms) of steel.
The USS Pittsburgh is the 15th San Antonio-class vessel and the second to include a next-generation amphibious LPD Flight II configuration.
The US Navy and Marine Corps will utilize the platform for troop, aircraft, vehicle, and cargo transport.
“We are proud to have the future USS Pittsburgh under construction, the fifth ship to bear the name,” Capt. Cedric McNeal said.
“With this ship, we will continue to honor the legacy of the great city of Pittsburgh and the state of Pennsylvania,” he continued.
USS Pittsburgh (LPD 31)
The USS Pittsburgh will be 684 feet (208 meters) long and have a 105-foot (32-meter) beam.
Its full-load displacement will be approximately 24,900 long tons (25,300 metric tons), with a maximum speed of more than 22 knots (24.2 miles/38.7 kilometers per hour).
The ship’s four turbocharged marine Colt-Pielstick Diesel engines will generate 41,600 horsepower in each shaft.
It will have the capacity to carry two Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion or Boeing MV-22 Osprey helicopters, four Bell AH-1Z Viper, Bell UH-1Y Venom, or Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk helicopters.
It will carry two MK 46 30-millimeter high-velocity naval cannons, two RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile systems, and 10 M2 .50 machine guns as base weapons.
