US Navy awards major contract to Huntington Ingalls for its newest class of amphibious vessels

By: David B. Larter

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy awarded shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls a $165.5 million contract to procure long lead-time materials for the LPD-17 Flight II, according to a contract dated Aug. 2 and released Friday.

The amphibious transport dock, designated LPD-30, is the first of the 13-ship LPD-17 Flight II class that will replace the current dock landing ships. The program, which was until April known as LX(R), is expected to be built exclusively at HII's yard in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

“This is a significant milestone as we embark toward a new flight of LPDs,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias said in a statement. “The Flight II LPDs will be highly capable ships meeting the requirements and needs of our Navy-Marine Corps team. We look forward to delivering this series of affordable LPDs to our nation's fleet of amphibious ships.”

The Navy is anticipating awarding a detailed design and construction contract either late in 2018 or early 2019. The Navy's cost goal for the program is $1.64 billion for the first ship and $1.4 billion for each subsequent ship, according to the Congressional Research Service.

LPD-30 is going to come equipped with Raytheon's Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar, an upgrade over the AN/SPS-48 currently on the LPD-17 class.

https://www.defensenews.com/breaking-news/2018/08/03/us-navy-awards-huge-contract-to-huntington-ingalls-for-its-newest-class-of-amphibious-vessels