Article Posted on : - Jun 11, 2010

The amphibious transport dock ship San Diego (LPD 22) is escorted at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Ingalls shipyard. Photo: US Navy

WASHINGTON (BNS): US Navy will launch its newest built amphibious transport dock ship, San Diego on June 12, at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss.

The ship is named for the city of San Diego, principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet.

According to a US Navy news release, designated LPD 22, San Diego is the sixth amphibious transport dock ship in the San Antonio class. As an element of future expeditionary strike groups, the ship will support the US Marine Corps "mobility triad," which consists of the landing craft air cushion vehicle, the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) and the Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.

The amphibious transport ship San Diego will provide improved war-fighting capabilities which include an advanced command and control suite, increased lift capability in vehicle, cargo-carrying capacity and advanced ship survivability features to the US Navy. The ship is capable of embarking a landing force of up to 800 Marines.

The San Diego ship is 684 feet in length and has an overall weight of 24,900-ton. It has an beam of 105 feet and a navigational draft of 23 feet. The ship has a maximum speed of 22 knots from its four turbo-charged diesel engines.

Earlier, the US Navy had named three ships with the San Diego name - an armored cruiser (ACR 6) named in 1914, a World War II-era cruiser (CL 53) commissioned in 1942 and a combat stores ship (AFS 6) that served from 1969 to 1997.