NNS020924-07 Keel Laying for First West Coast LPD 17 Class Ship
9/24/2002 11:17:00 AM
By Kendall King, LPD 17 Program Office Public Affairs
NEW ORLEANS (NNS) -- Northrop Grumman Ships Systems will lay the keel for New Orleans (LPD 18), a San Antonio class amphibious transport dock ships on Oct. 14 in New Orleans.
New Orleans, the second of 12 planned San Antonio class ships, will initially be homeported in San Diego.
Keel-laying has traditionally 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.' In fact, New Orleans started pre-fabrication earlier this year so this event will be largely a ceremonial milestone when a shipyard welder attaches a New Orleans plaque to the keel.
New Orleans' sister ship, San Antonio, started construction in 2000 and recently reached its 50-percent completion milestone. Each of the 12 amphibious transport dock ships in the class will have a well deck to support the launching and recovery of landing craft and to operate the Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle, the Marine Corps' Over-the-Horizon mechanized amphibious vehicle.
The ship's large flight deck will fully support the simultaneous launch and recovery of up to four helicopters or operations of the Marine Corps' Osprey vertical take off and landing aircraft. More than 720 troops, who will project the ship's offensive power, will live comfortably on the ship.
At 684-feet long, a beam of 105 feet, and with 50-percent greater displacement, New Orleans will be considerably larger than the LPD 4 class of amphibious transport dock ships it will replace. The ship will be powered by improved Colt-Pielstick diesel engines; it also will have all electric auxiliary systems (no steam), a reverse osmosis water generating plant, and a self-deploying sideport ramp.
San Antonio class will become an integral part of three-ship Amphibious Ready Groups, amphibious or joint tasks forces, or possibly envisioned Expeditionary Strike Groups. While not flagship configured, the ship will have ample communications connectivity and command and control resources to operate independently if needed.
Facilitating information technology flow in New Orleans will be the fiber optic Shipboard Wide Area Network (SWAN) that will provide network access in over 1,500 locations from the Pilot House to the berthing spaces.
New Orleans will have a distinctive appearance as well. It will be the first class of ships to have two Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensors (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 the weather and sea spray.
Using a frequency selective material in the AEM/S, electronic signals from the antennas pass through the mast/sensor surface while background noise is reduced. The AEM/S also helps reduce the ship's radar cross-section signature, making it a less vulnerable target.
For self-defense, the class will have the rolling airframe missile system, in two launchers, fore and aft. For surface targets, two 30mm stabilized close-in-guns provide defense, relying upon closed loop radar, laser range finders and forward-looking infrared to ensure accuracy while providing for remote firing. These shipboard guns will be similar to those carried by the embarked Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicles.
Quality of life has not been neglected on New Orleans. The crew of 361 and all of the embarked troops will use the sit-up berth. This berth enables the occupant to have extra room for sitting and provides a portable reading or writing surface. All crew and troop berthing spaces are identical with adjacent lounges and sanitary facilities.
The single, consolidated galley will provide food service to the crew/troop dining facility, for the chief petty officers/senior non-commissioned 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.
New Orleans (LPD 18) honors the largest city in Louisiana and one of the world's three largest seaports. In the past century three Naval ships have carried that name.
The first, a protected cruiser, served in the Spanish-American War and World War I, while the heavy cruiser CA-32 earned 17 battle stars in World War II. The most recent previous New Orleans, the amphibious assault ship LPH 11, conducted over 90,000 helicopter landings before decommissioning in 1997.
USS New Orleans, when it arrives in the Fleet in 2005, will be the first of five LPD 17's that will eventually call Naval Station San Diego home.
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