Design and Development
The class's increased vehicle and substantial cargo carrying capacity will make it a key element of 21st century Amphibious Ready Groups, Expeditionary Strike Groups, or Joint task forces. The ships of the new class integrate the latest in shipbuilding and warfighting technologies to support current and future Marine Corps aircraft, and both air cushion or conventional landing craft.
The San Antonios are designed to be the most survivable amphibious ships ever put to sea. The design incorporates state-of-the-art self-defense capabilities; and includes facilities for Command and Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I); and reduced radar cross-section signature technologies. Reduced operational costs and an improved capability to incorporate technological advances over its 40-year service life are also essential design objectives. The Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensors, which enclose the ship's radars and communications antennas, characterize the ship's distinctive profile. However, the DoD's Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E) found in 2011 that the first ship had several deficiencies which rendered it "not operationally effective, suitable, or survivable in a hostile environment". The LPD-17 class was largely designed with the metric system, specifying millimeters for linear dimensions and other parameters. It is the first major U.S. Navy ship class to be so constructed. Most machinery parameters remain in U.S. customary units.
The ship's ability to carry Landing Craft, Air Cushioned (LCACs), the Shipboard Wide Area Network with over 762 fiber optic drops, Total Ship's Training System, Integrated Bridge System, Engineering Control System, and Damage Control System all serve to ensure that sailors and Marines will be able to fully perform their expeditionary warfare missions. The San Antonios also incorporate the latest quality of life standards for the embarked Marines and sailors, including the sit-up berth, ship services mall, and Learning Resource Center/Electronic Classroom with the flexibility to accommodate sailors and Marines of both sexes as part of the crew and embarked troops.
J. Michael Gilmore, the Defense Department’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), has said that the ships are 'capable of operating “in a benign environment,” but not effective, suitable and not survivable in a combat situation'.
USS San Antonio, the first ship of the class, has experienced several construction related issues.
United States senator Kay Hagan has asked if the LPD-17 construction line ought to be extended to a 12th ship as a bridge to building the LSD(X) on the same hull, but the USN has indicated that the requirements of the LSD(X) have not yet been settled and that the LPD-17 hull might be too large for such a mission.
Chief of Naval Operations Greenert is considering using some of the extra space in the San Antonio class to mount modular equipment in the same fashion as the Littoral combat ship.
Read more about this topic: San Antonio Class Amphibious Transport Dock
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