USS San Antonio (LPD-17)
Class overview
Builders:	Northrop Grumman Ship Systems
Operators:	United States Navy
Preceded by:	Trenton-class amphibious transport dock, Austin-class amphibious transport dock, Cleveland-class amphibious transport dock, Anchorage-class dock landing ship, Newport-class tank landing ship, Charleston-class amphibious cargo ship
Succeeded by:	N/A—current authorized amphibious transport dock line
Cost:	Between $1,282 million and $1,923 million[1]
Built:	2000–present
In commission:	2006–present
Building:	4
Planned:	12
Active:	6
General characteristics
Type:	Amphibious transport dock
Displacement:	24,900 t
Length:	684 ft (208 m)
Beam:	105 ft (32 m)
Draft:	23 ft (7.0 m), full load
Propulsion:	Four sequentially turbocharged marine Colt-Pielstick diesel engines, two shafts, 41,600 shp
Speed:	In excess of 22 knots (41 km/h)
Boats and landing craft carried:	2× LCACs (air cushion); or 1× LCU (conventional) 14× Expeditionary Fighting Vehicles/Amphibious Assault Vehicles
Complement:	Crew: 28 officers, and 333 enlisted Landing force: 66 officers, and 633 enlisted
Armament:	2× Bushmaster II 30 mm Close in Guns 2× Rolling Airframe Missile launchers 2× Mk 41 8 Cell VLS for quad-packed ESSMs (if required) Several twin M2 Browning Machine Gun turrets
Aircraft carried:	Launch or land up to four CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters; or up to two MV-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft simultaneously with room to spot four MV-22s on deck and one in the hangar

The San Antonio class is the United States Navy's new primary class of amphibious transport dock (LPD) in the beginning of the 21st century.^[2] It is replacing the older Austin-, Cleveland-, and Trenton-class LPDs as well as the Anchorage-class dock landing ships, Newport-class tank landing ships, and one class that has already been retired, the Charleston-class amphibious cargo ships.^[2]

Twelve San Antonios were originally planned, but funding for the San Antonio class was reduced as a result of budget cuts, and only ten ships will be funded. There are currently four San Antonio-class LPDs under construction and five in commission as of January 2010; LPD 26 has been awarded, while LPD 27 and 28 are planned, but have not been awarded to a shipyard or all named.^[3] The final unit cost for each ship is not yet known, but cost of the first ship of the class, the USS San Antonio (LPD-17), was nearly US$1.4 billion.^[4]

  Design and development

The class's increased vehicle and substantial cargo carrying capacity will make it a key element of 21st century Amphibious Ready Groups, Expeditionary Strike Groups, or Joint task forces. The ships of the new class integrate the latest in shipbuilding and warfighting technologies to support current and future Marine Corps aircraft, and both air cushion or conventional landing craft.^[2]

The San Antonios are designed to be the most survivable amphibious ships ever put to sea. The design incorporates state-of-the-art self-defense capabilities; and includes facilities for Command and Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I); and reduced radar cross-section signature technologies. Reduced operational costs and an improved capability to incorporate technological advances over its 40-year service life are also essential design objectives. The Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensors, which enclose the ship's radars and communications antennas, characterize the ship's distinctive profile.^[2] The LPD-17 class was largely designed with the metric system, specifying millimeters for linear dimensions and other parameters. It is the first major U.S. Navy ship class to be so constructed. Most machinery parameters remain in U.S. customary units.

The ship's ability to carry Landing Craft, Air Cushioned (LCACs), the Shipboard Wide Area Network with over 762 fiber optic drops, Total Ship's Training System, Integrated Bridge System, Engineering Control System, and Damage Control System all serve to ensure that sailors and Marines will be able to fully perform their expeditionary warfare missions. The San Antonios also incorporate the latest quality of life standards for the embarked Marines and sailors, including the sit-up berth, ship services mall, and Learning Resource Center/Electronic Classroom with the flexibility to accommodate sailors and Marines of both sexes as part of the crew and embarked troops.^[3]

J. Michael Gilmore, the Defense Department’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), has said that the ships are 'capable of operating “in a benign environment,” but not effective, suitable and not survivable in a combat situation'.^[5]

USS San Antonio, the first ship of the class, has experienced several construction related issues.

United States senator Kay Hagan has asked if the LPD-17 construction line ought to be extended to a 12th ship as a bridge to building the LSD(X) on the same hull, but the USN has indicated that the requirements of the LSD(X) have not yet been settled and that the LPD-17 hull might be too large for such a mission.^[6]

Chief of Naval Operations Greenert is considering using some of the extra space in the San Antonio class to mount modular equipment in the same fashion as the Littoral combat ship.^[7]

  Ships of the class

  Gallery

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  USS San Antonio during construction at Avondale, 2002

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  Port-bow view of USS San Antonio.

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  Port-quarter view of USS New Orleans.

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  Steel from the World Trade Center is poured for construction of USS New York (LPD-21)

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  Elevation of LPD-17 class ship.

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  See also

• The PRC's Type 071 amphibious transport dock is of comparable size and mission.

  References

  External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: San Antonio class amphibious transport docks

• The San Antonio class's Web site