LPD-17 San Antonio Class: The USA’s New Amphibious Ships (updated)
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LPD-17 San Antonio Class amphibious assault support vessels are a new class of ship which is just entering service with the US Navy. Much like their predecessors, their mission is to embark, transport, land, and support elements of a US Marine Corps Landing Force. What changes are the capabilities and technologies incorporated to perform that mission. This new ship class includes significant internal technology and design upgrades, and is designed to operate accompanying platforms like the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle amphibious armored personnel carrier.
Between 9-10 scheduled ships of this class (reduced from 12) are slated to assume the functional duties of up to 41 previous ships. Ships to be replaced include the USA’s older LSD-36 USS Anchorage Class dock landing ships (all decommissioned as of 2004, LSD-36 and LSD-38 transferred to Taiwan) and its LPD-4 USS Austin Class ships (12 built and serving, LPD 14 Trenton now India’s INS Jalashva). The San Antonio Class ships may also replace 2 classes of ships currently mothballed and held in reserve status under the Amphibious Lift Enhancement Program (ALEP): the LST-1179 Newport Class tank landing ships, and LKA-113 Charleston Class amphibious cargo ships.
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Replacing that many existing ships is already a very tall order. While its design incorporates notable advances, the San Antonio Class has also had its share of teething problems. So, too, has the New Orleans shipyard to which most of this contract has been assigned. Teething issues are not uncommon in new ship classes, but the number of serious issues encountered in this ship class have been much higher than usual, and more extensive. The initial ships have been criticized for sub-standard workmanship, and it took 2 1/2 years after the initial ship of class was delivered and accepted before any ship of class was sent on an operational cruise. Whereupon the USS San Antonio promptly found itself laid up Bahrain due to oil leaks. Meanwhile, costs are almost twice the originally promised amounts at over $1.7 billion per ship – 2 to 3 times as much as many foreign LPD classes, and more than 10 times as much as Singapore’s 6,600 ton Endeavour Class LPD.
DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This is DID’s FOCUS Article for the San Antonio Class, detailing the ships’ unique features and capabilities, its program innovations and issues, ship timelines, and related contracts throughout the program’s history. As has become DID custom, the most recent additions are highlighted in green type. The latest developments include another major failure for USS San Antonio, and purchases to begin construction of LPD 26…
- LPD-17 San Antonio Class: Capabilities and Features
- LPD-17 San Antonio Class: Project & Timelines
- LPD-17 San Antonio Class: Process & Issues
- LPD-17 San Antonio Class: Contracts and Events (1996-Present) [updated]
- Appendix A: Additional Readings & Sources – LPD-17 Ship Class
- Appendix B: Additional Readings & Sources – News and Views
Subscribe to DII and start reading the full story of the San Antonio-class amphibious ship and our compilation of related materials including:
- Rich media resources including 14 photos of the ships and related systems, cutaway graphics and renditions, and links to published project reviews
- Chronology of acceptance trials, cost overruns, the effects of Hurricane Katrina, and political climate
- Procurement events and project milestones dating back to 1996, with links to source materials
- Description of new ship features that differentiate it from other ships of its broad type, and links to the air and land platforms it will support including the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor, CH-53K heavy transport helicopter, UH-1Y/AH-1Z transport/attack helicopters, MH-60 Seahawk helicopter family, LCAC hovercraft, and amphibious vehicles like the troubled EFV program.
- Vast network of links to additional DII discussion and other source materials
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