Mesa Verde passes Navy trials

PASCAGOULA, Miss., Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Northrop Grumman said its amphibious transport dock ship Mesa Verde has completed its U.S. Navy acceptance trials.

The Mesa Verde -- LPD 19 -- "successfully maneuvered the Gulf of Mexico waters last week, demonstrating her unique capabilities to the U.S. Navy," the company said in a statement.

"The Mesa Verde is the third transport dock ship that Northrop Grumman is building for the Navy. The ship will be delivered later this month and will be commissioned in Panama City, Fla., on Dec. 15, 2007," the company said.

"The ship performed well and the trial results demonstrate the progress we are making with this ship class," said Philip Teel, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman's Ship Systems sector. "Make no mistake, LPD 19 will provide our sailors and Marines with a reliable and capable platform to perform their mission of defending freedom."

"The completion of acceptance trials is a major step towards bringing LPD 19 into the fleet, and we look forward to ship delivery later this month," said Rear Adm. Chuck Goddard, the Navy's program executive officer for ships. "Mesa Verde performed very well on trials, and its condition and performance is a testament to the craftsmanship of the shipbuilders. I expect this trend to continue as the company completes the rest of this incredibly capable class."

"Mesa Verde's mission is to embark, transport and land elements of a landing force in a variety of expeditionary and special operations missions," Northrop Grumman said.

"I am well pleased with Mesa Verde's performance on acceptance trials," said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Shawn Lobree, LPD 19's prospective commanding officer. "This highly capable ship passed all major testing events and is ready to be delivered to the Navy."

Northrop Grumman described the Mesa Verde as "an LPD 17-class ship."

"This new ship class affords the Navy's Expeditionary Strike Group with the technology and flexibility to launch and recover amphibious landing craft such as the Landing Craft Air Cushion -- LCAC -- operate an array of rotary-wing aircraft, and carry and launch the U.S. Marine Corps' Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle," the company said.