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LPD 22 Completes Acceptance Trials

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS111121-17
11/21/2011

From Naval Sea Systems Command Public Affairs

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (NNS) -- The future USS San Diego (LPD 22) finished acceptance trials at Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., Nov. 17, completing the final major milestone prior to the shipyard delivering the San Antonio class amphibious transport dock ship to the Navy in December.

San Diego is the sixth ship of the class to be presented to the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) for acceptance.

"The ship fully performed as expected, successfully completing all of the required demonstrations in port and at sea with some of the highest scores seen in this class to date," said Rear Adm. David H. Lewis, program executive officer ships. "These trials reflect the hard work the LPD 17 class team has accomplished in order to prepare this capable warship for delivery to the fleet."

During the acceptance trials, HII successfully demonstrated a variety of systems including main propulsion engineering and ship control systems, combat systems, communications systems, damage control, food service and crew support, and the electronic backbone of the ship, the Shipboard Wide Area Network. Among the highlights of the at sea trial portion, San Diego successfully completed a four-hour full power run, self defense detect-to-engage exercises, rapid ballasting and deballasting, steering, quick reversal, and anchoring.

The rapid ballast and deballast demonstration is unique to amphibious ships and consists of rapidly flooding the ship's well deck as if landing craft were to be launched or recovered. The ship is then deballasted to return to the normal steaming draft. In the case of this acceptance trial, the results of the rapid ballast event beat the 15 minute time standard by 2 minutes and 45 seconds.

In addition to the INSURV team, Navy experts from Naval Sea Systems Command, the LPD 17 class program office and the Supervisor of Shipbuilding Gulf Coast participated in the trials. Each individual from these entities contributed to the overall trial readiness through their focus on quality assurance and the execution of the test and evaluation program during the months preceding these trials. The crew of the pre-commissioning unit San Diego also played a key role in preparing their ship for acceptance trials.

San Diego is tentatively scheduled to commission in summer 2012 in her namesake city. This is the fourth ship to be named San Diego and it honors the city's history as one of the major naval seaports for the Pacific Fleet.

LPD 22 will join USS New Orleans (LPD 18) and USS Green Bay (LPD 20) as the third ship of the class to be homeported in San Diego. Three other LPDs, USS San Antonio (LPD 17), USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19), and USS New York (LPD 21) are homeported in Norfolk, Va.

Four other LPDs are currently under construction at Huntington Ingalls Industries' facilities on the Gulf Coast. These hulls include Anchorage (LPD 23), Arlington (LPD 24), Somerset (LPD 25), and John P. Murtha (LPD 26).

As one of the Defense Department's largest acquisition organizations, PEO Ships is responsible for executing the development and procurement of all destroyers, amphibious ships, special mission and support ships, and special warfare craft. Currently, the majority of shipbuilding programs managed by PEO Ships are benefiting from serial production efficiencies, which are critical to delivering ships on cost and schedule.