Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding division authenticated and laid the keel of the US Navy's 16th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock (LPD) in a ceremony on Tuesday, March 3.
Named after Pennsylvania's largest city, the future USS Philadelphia will be able to support embarking, transporting, and landing US Marines and their equipment by conventional landing craft (LCU) or air-cushioned landing craft (LCAC).
The LPD will be fitted with a well deck that can accommodate either one LCU or two LCACs, and the ship's capabilities will be further enhanced by its flight deck and hangar, enabling her to operate a variety of helicopters as well as the MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.
Up to 699 marines and their equipment can be embarked in addition to the ship's own crew complement of 28 officers and 333 enlisted sailors.
The accommodation spaces will include a fitness centre, a learning resource centre, an onboard mall, two operating theatres, and 124 patient beds.
The San Antonio-class ships have slightly reduced troop-carrying capacity compared to the Austin-class LPDs they were built to replace. However, the newer vessels offer significantly greater capacity for transporting vehicles compared to their predecessors.
