Huntington Ingalls contracted for USS Fort Lauderdale design

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries has received a $1.46 billion contract to perform detail design and construction for the future USS Fort Lauderdale.

Under the contract, Huntington will support the 12th ship of the U.S. Navy's LPD 17 San Antonio-class, an amphibious transport dock ship variant. The vessels serve as a functional replacement for a variety of naval ship variants, including the Austin-, Anchorage-, Charleston-, and Newport-class ships.

LPDs are used to provide maritime transport for land forces, specifically U.S. Marines, for expeditionary warfare missions. They can also be used to transport supporting equipment including amphibious assault vehicles, and several aircraft.

Work on the contract will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss., and several other locations. The U.S. Department of Defense expects the work to be complete by October 2021.The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington D.C. is the contracting activity.