(At least $1.4 billion dollars) Amphib San Diego to be christened Saturday

[unhappycamper]

Amphib San Diego to be christened Saturday
Staff report
Posted : Friday Jun 11, 2010 16:13:11 EDT

The Navy is scheduled to christen the amphibious transport dock San Diego at 10 a.m. Saturday at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss.

The ship is named for the principal home port of the Pacific Fleet and honors the people of “America’s Finest City” and its leaders for their continuous support of the military, according to a Navy press release.

Gen. James Amos, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, will be the keynote speaker. Linda Winter, wife of former Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter, is the sponsor, and in accordance with Navy tradition, will break a bottle of champagne across the bow to formally christen the ship.

Designated LPD 22, San Diego is the sixth amphibious transport dock in the San Antonio class. As an element of future expeditionary strike groups, the ship will support the Marine Corps “mobility triad,” which consists of the landing craft air cushion vehicle, the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle and the Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.

San Diego has an advanced command and control suite, increased lift capability in vehicle and cargo-carrying capacity and advanced ship survivability features. The ship is capable of embarking a landing force of up to 800 Marines.



unhappycamper comment: The first LDP of its class, the USS San Antonio cost around $1.4 billion dollars. Knowing the way things work these days, we'll be be happy if we can get another one for $1.4 billion dollars.

[Bigmack]

1. I always wait for the articles telling the vulnerabilities...

of these expensive toys.

Just from a grunt's point of view... it seems to me that when when these amphib docks send their cushion landing craft in, those cushion craft present a mouth-watering target for the opposition's gunners. Of course, the military is probably not planning on much in the way of opposition from the poor brown people we seem to favor as invasion recipients.

I rode an amtrac several times off the back of an LSD (Landing Ship Dock), and you gotta suspend your common sense for a minute to do that. Big fucking steel thing driving off a perfectly good boat. You can't believe that amtrac is gonna bob back to the surface.