HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding segment has finalized the acceptance trials of the US Navy’s San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28).
The event in Virginia covered a series of evaluations from the navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey experts over the course of several days.
The company showcased the vessel’s ballast and deballast process, detection systems, anchor handling, steering, and full-power operability.
Following the activity, the Fort Lauderdale will receive final preparations for its handover to the service in the first quarter of 2024.
“Fort Lauderdale is a terrific example of what our collective team is accomplishing together,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson stated.
“LPD 28 demonstrates what Navy-industry collaboration can do to evolve a ship design to new requirements while maintaining the talented team that is demonstrating such efficiency and predictability in delivering on commitments. I couldn’t be more proud of their success.”
LPD 28 is the 12th platform developed under the US Navy’s San Antonio-class program.
Its namesakes have honored the state of Florida’s cooperation with the US Navy since the 1830s and through the Second World War.
San Antonio Transport Docks
The San Antonio fleet is part of the US Department of Defense’s amphibious assault framework to support expeditionary and humanitarian missions.
Its primary objective is to transport warfighters, military equipment, and supplies at sea through the first half of the 21st century.
Each vessel under the class measures 684 feet (208 meters) in length, has a beam of 105 feet (32 meters), and capacity for up to 600 personnel.
The ship is designed to deploy a single Conventional Landing Craft, two Landing Craft Air Cushions, 14 Amphibious Assault Vehicles, and up to four MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.
The platform is powered by four turbocharged diesel engines for a speed of more than 22 knots (41 kilometers/25 miles per hour).
It is armed with Bushmaster guns, Rolling Airframe Missile launchers, M2 Browning machine gun turrets, and vertical launching systems.
