New Warship Sails Off to Join US Fleet

Amphibious transport dock ship 'San Diego' sais from Huntington Ingalls Industries' shipyard for commissioning

Huntington Ingalls Industries announce that the company's sixth amphibious transport dock, San Diego (LPD 22), has sailed from their yard en route to her commissioning site in San Diego.

San Diego was delivered to the Navy in December following acceptance sea trials. Ingalls' test and trials team thoroughly tested the ship's main propulsion, steering, communications suite and deck missions systems.

LPD 22 is scheduled to be commissioned on May 19 in San Diego. It is the fourth ship named in honor of the military town and home of the largest Navy base in the Pacific.

San Antonio-class ships are 684 feet long and 105 feet wide and displace approximately 25,000 tons. Their principal mission is to deploy the combat and support elements of Marine Expeditionary Units and Brigades. The ships can carry up to 800 troops and have the capability of transporting and debarking landing craft air cushion (LCAC) or conventional landing crafts, augmented by helicopters or vertical take-off and landing aircraft such as the MV-22. These ships will support amphibious assault, special operations or expeditionary warfare missions through the first half of the 21st century.

Ingalls has now built and delivered the first six ships in the class, and there are four more under construction.