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2020-05-03

Huntington Ingalls Wins US$1.50B Shipbuilding Contract

Huntington Ingalls Industries recently announced that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has received a US$1.50 billion fixed-price-incentive modification to a previously awarded contract for the procurement of the detail design and construction of amphibious transport dock LPD 31.

The ship will be the 15th in the San Antonio class and the second Flight II Landing Platform Dock (LPD). Amphibious transport dock ships are warships that embark, transport and land elements of a landing force for a variety of expeditionary warfare missions.

“In building this 15th LPD, Ingalls experienced shipbuilders will continue this hot production line of great amphibious warships for our Navy/Marine Corps team,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias said. “We are all proud to be building these great ships and will continue to deliver the most survivable and affordable ships possible for our customers and our nation.”

The San Antonio class is a part of the Navy’s 21st century amphibious assault force. The 684-foot-long, 105-foot-wide ships are used to embark and land Marines, their equipment and supplies ashore via air cushion or conventional landing craft and amphibious assault vehicles, augmented by helicopters or vertical takeoff and landing aircraft such as the MV-22 Osprey. The ships support a Marine Air Ground Task Force across the spectrum of operations, conducting amphibious and expeditionary missions of sea control and power projection to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions throughout the first half of the 21st century.

Functional Replacement

The U.S. Navy decided in 2014 that the LSD-41/49 replacement ships would be built to a variant of the design of the Navy’s San Antonio (LPD-17) class amphibious ships. The LPD 17 San Antonio class is the functional replacement for over 41 ships including the LPD 4 Austin class, LSD 36 Anchorage class, LKA 113 Charleston class, and LST 1179 Newport class amphibious ships. The newly designated LPD Flight II ships (formerly LX(R)) will be the functional replacement for the LSD 41/49 Whidbey Island Class.

A total of 13 LPD-17 class ships (LPDs 17 through 29) were procured between FY1996 and FY2017. Reflecting that decision, the U.S. Navy announced on April 10, 2018, that the replacement ships would be known as the LPD-17 Flight II ships. By implication, the Navy’s original LPD-17 design became the LPD-17 Flight I design. The first LPD-17 Flight II ship is designated LPD-30. Subsequent LPD17 Flight II ships are to be designated LPD-31, LPD-32, and so on.

The U.S. Navy planned to accelerate purchase of LPD 30—the first fully configured Flight II ship—after the U.S. Congress appropriated US$1.8 billion above the fiscal year 2018 budget request, according to programme officials.

The Navy based the Flight II design on Flight I, with modifications to reduce costs and meet new requirements. According to programme officials, roughly 200 design changes will distinguish the two flights including replacing the composite mast with a steel stick. Officials stated that the design would not rely on any new technologies.

The U.S. Navy initially pursued a limited competition for LX(R), but now has a non-competitive acquisition strategy for LPD 17 Flight II. The Navy awarded sole-source contracts to Huntington Ingalls—the only shipbuilder of Flight I ships—for Flight II construction. The LPD Flight II will be a mobile, agile airport, seaport, hospital, command and control node, maintenance and logistics facilities supporting a Marine Air Ground Task Force.

Building on a legacy of proven equipment and systems, LPD Flight II maintains commonality with existing fleet assets to provide added value by capitalising on existing logistics support, crew training and knowledge base for Sailors and Marines. It efficiently and affordably meet the needs of the Navy/Marine Corps team.

Ingalls’ LPD Flight II programme vendor base consists of more than 600 manufacturers and suppliers in 39 states, including 387 small businesses. More than 1,500 shipbuilders work on each LPD. The company has delivered 11 San Antonio-class ships to the Navy, and it has three more under construction.

Huntington Ingalls Industries is one of America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. For more than a century, HII’s Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have reportedly built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HII’s Technical Solutions division supports national security missions around the globe with unmanned systems, defence and federal solutions, nuclear and environmental services, and fleet sustainment.

Reference Photo/Text: www.hii-co.com

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