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View Full Version : New LPD 17 delivers triple threat



thedrifter
11-25-02, 05:40 PM
By Greg Tyler, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Tuesday, November 26, 2002



SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — The formal name for the vessel is “San Antonio-class amphibious assault ship,” the LPD 17 — but U.S. Marines might prefer to think of it as their brand-new triple threat.

“The LPD 17 is the first class of amphibious ships designed to accommodate the Marine Corps’ ‘mobility triad’ of Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicles, Landing Craft Air Cushioned [hovercraft] and the tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey aircraft,” said Capt. Andrew Karakos, commander of Sasebo’s Amphibious Squadron ELEVEN.

Eventually, the Navy is to get 12 San Antonio-class ships. Recently, the keel was laid for the USS New Orleans, the second of the 12. The LPD 17s would replace the Austin-class, or LPD 4, ships — such as the USS Juneau, which operates from Sasebo Naval Base as part of the 7th Fleet’s Amphibious Force.

The new ships will provide amphibious ready groups “with an extended over-the-horizon capability that improves threat-reaction time and extends their operating ranges,” Karakos said.

The ship’s flight deck supports the simultaneous launch and recovery of up to four helicopters or operations of the MV-22 Osprey vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. More than 720 troops can live aboard comfortably, said Craig McKay, LPD 17 Program Office spokesman.

Each of the 12 new ships will have a well deck to support amphibious landing craft and to operate the Marine Corps’ Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle. Unlike the Amphibious Assault Vehicles used now, which sit low in the water, the Advanced AAVs ride above the water and travel much faster.

This lets the amphibious ship anchor “over the horizon,” adding an element of surprise during an attack.

At 684 feet long, with a 105-foot beam and 50 percent greater displacement, LPD 17s are considerably larger than the LPD 4s they replace.

“Each ship of the class has approximately 25,000 feet of vehicle storage space,” Karakos said. “This exceeds the lift capability of the much larger Wasp-class amphibious assault ships,” or LHDs, “and is double that of the Austin-class amphibious transport dock [LPD] ships they replace.”

The LPD 17 actually will replace four classes of amphibious ships, Karakos said: the LKA-113, LSD-36, LST-1179 and the LPD-4-class ships like Juneau.

Although the Juneau is the likely candidate for replacement by a new LPD 17, “there has been no public announcement of when an LPD 17-class ship will arrive in Sasebo,” he said.

Keel laying traditionally has been the first step in ship construction, when shipbuilders laid down the lengthwise timber that would become the ship’s backbone. In modern steel ship construction, fabrication of modularized units often starts before the keel is “laid.”

The New Orleans’ sister ship, the USS San Antonio, started construction in 2000 and is about half done. Construction also recently began on the third ship in the class, the USS Mesa Verde.

The San Antonio class would become an integral part of three-ship ARGs, amphibious or joint tasks forces or possibly a new formation being considered, the expeditionary strike group.

The LPD 17 has a distinctive appearance. It’s the first class of ship to have two Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensors, or AEM/S. Some of the ship’s radars and all of the ship’s communications antennas are housed inside the AEM/S, which protects them from weather and sea spray.

Special material used in the AEM/S lets electronic signals from the antennas pass through while background noise is reduced. The AEM/S also helps shrink the ship’s radar signature, making it a less vulnerable target.

“The ship will have ample communications connectivity and command and control resources to operate independently if needed,” McKay said.

However, Karakos explained, “The LPD 17 is not specifically flagship configured, and would not be a replacement for the USS Essex.”

For self-defense, the class will have the rolling airframe missile system. For surface targets, two 30 mm stabilized close-in guns provide defense, relying upon closed-loop radar, laser range finders and forward-looking infrared. “These shipboard guns will be similar to those carried by the embarked Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicles,” McKay said.

The ship’s design also gives a nod to quality of life issues. For instance, the crew, and all embarked troops, will use sit-up berths that allow extra room for sitting and provide a portable reading or writing surface. All crew and troop berthing spaces are identical with adjacent lounges and sanitary facilities, he added.

The single, consolidated galley will provide food service to the dining facility for the crew and embarked troops, chief petty officers and senior noncommissioned officers’ mess and the wardroom. The electronic classroom, learning resource center and space for the Marine Corps’ virtual reality marksmanship trainer will be vital parts of onboard training.

The LPD 17 should be commissioned in 2005 or 2006, Karakos said. When USS New Orleans arrives in the fleet in 2005, it will be the first of five LPD 17s eventually calling Naval Station San Diego home.

“The potential of the LPD 17,” Karakos said, “will be determined once the sailors breathe life into the new ship and the LPD 17 joins the fleet.”

Sempers,

Roger