Huntington Ingalls contracted for LPD 29 amphibious transport ship

July 3 (UPI) -- Huntington Ingalls has received a $218 million modification to an existing contract for advance construction activities on the San Antonio-class LPD 29 amphibious transport dock ship.

The modification provides for long-lead time manufacturing materials and construction, the Department of Defense announced on June 30. Work will be conducted in Pascagoula, Miss., Beloit, Wash., and at other sites across the United States. Work is projected to be completed by February 2018.

Fiscal 2017 Navy shipbuilding and conversion funds in the amount of $108 million will be allocated upon award and will not expire at the end of the fiscal year.

The San Antonio-class amphibious transport docking ship is designed to load, transport and land Marines with their equipment and vehicles during an amphibious assault. It uses conventional landing craft, hovercraft, helicopters and vertical-takeoff aircraft like the MV-22 Osprey for landing and assault operations.

It can carry up to 800 Marines and their equipment and can field either two Ospreys and Sea Stallion helicopters or up to four attack helicopters. It is armed with light guns and RAM surface-to-air missiles for point defense against aircraft, anti-ship missiles and small fast-attack vessels.

San Antonio-class production was originally planned to end at 11 vessels pending its replacement by the future LX(R) dock landing ship, but construction of the class has been extended to 13. The Navy says this is in order to keep production lines open until the LX(R) program is fully online