Naval Station Ingleside

January 3, 2006

01/06

Contact Fifi Kieschnick (361) 776-4205

or (361) 385-0113.

For Immediate Release

SAN ANTONIO to be commissioned

Jan. 14 in Ingleside

The first of the Navy’s newest class of amphibious ship will be commissioned Jan. 14, at Naval Station Ingleside, Texas, at 11 a.m.

The amphibious transport dock USS San Antonio (LPD 17) is designed and built to support a Marine Air-Ground Task Force capable of conducting conventional or special operations. Its warfighting capabilities include a state-of-the-art command and control suite, substantially increased landing force vehicle lift capacity, a large flight deck and advanced ship survivability features that enhance its ability to operate in the littoral environment.

San Antonio is the first Navy ship designed to support the 21st century amphibious mobility triad of air-cushioned landing craft (LCAC), MV-22 Osprey vertical take off and landing aircraft, and Marine Corps expeditionary fighting vehicles. The ship is also the first designed with the advanced enclosed mast/sensor system.

When deployed, San Antonio will provide naval expeditionary forces with greatly enhanced operational flexibility. The ship is capable of operating independently or as part of an amphibious or joint task force.

Some of the enhanced capabilities San Antonio brings to the Navy Marine Corps expeditionary team include:

· Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensor System. The AEM/S System concept totally modified ship appearance topside and improves the war fighting capability through reduced radar cross section signature, improved sensor performance, and greatly reduced maintenance costs of the mast and antennas. The concept was proven at-sea on USS Radford (DD 968) and will be installed in each ship of the San Antonio LPD 17 class. Northrop Grumman Ship Systems builds these masts at its all-composite building yard in Gulfport, Mississippi, and then transports them to the shipyards in Pascagoula or New Orleans for installation aboard ship. Antennas are located inside each of the two Masts, which use a hybrid frequency selective material to allow communications, and radar signals to pass through, but excludes electronic noise and weather.

· Advanced Command and Control Characteristics. The design of LPD 17's Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance architecture represents a revolutionary advance in shipboard command and control capabilities.

o Advanced satellite communications for reliable communications with other commands and troops ashore

o High-speed inter-ship digital links to exchange tactical information with ships in a group

o Video Teleconference capability

o Global Command and Control System-Maritime that provides a single, seamless support for the decision-making process and plan, coordinate, and execute operations throughout the chain of command.

o Multiple radio non-satellite communications paths for line-of-sight and long-range communications, alternative means for communicating with other commands and troops ashore.

· All Electric Auxiliaries. All previous amphibious ships have had auxiliary boilers to produce steam for heating, hot water, and cooking. Steam can be dangerous plus these auxiliary systems were difficult to maintain and manpower intensive. The LPD 17 class will have electric heating, electric water heaters, and electric combination ovens in the galley.

· Improved Crew and Troop Berthing Spaces. Identical for embarked troops and ship's crew. In LPD 17, the berthing spaces will have similar sit-up berths, integral sanitary (head) facilities, and have adjacent lounges. Chief Petty Officers and Senior Non-commissioned Officers will live in modular six person bunkrooms with integrated sanitary facilities. Moreover, males and females will have equal facilities in LPD 17.

o Berth - sit up. LPD 17 will incorporate the sit-up berth for crew and embarked troops alike. For the first time personnel will have room to sit up in their bunks and to read or write on portable surfaces. Each berth will have individual ventilation fans and 40% more storage.

· Boat Valley and all RHIBs. LPD 17 Class ships will carry one 11-meter and two 7-meter rigid-hull inflatable boats. These boats are considerably lighter than traditional conventional craft and thus reduce the ship's weight, improve acquisition costs, and decrease boat maintenance requirements. Two of these boats are stored in a boat valley while a second 7-meter RHIB, which serves as the ship's rescue boat, is hidden on the starboard side. The boat valley can also store two mission-RHIBs used by embarked Small Boat or Marine Reconnaissance units.

· Consolidated Galleys. LPD 17 uses a single, modern galley to feed officers in the wardroom; chief petty officers and senior non-commissioned officers in the CPO/SCNO mess; and embarked troops and ship's crew in the enlisted dining facility. Over 1200 Sailors and Marines can be fed 3+ times per day without long lines.

· Enhanced Survivability. The LPD 17 class will be the first to combine so many survivability, emergency response systems. These include the Water Mist System - Protection for the Main Machinery and Auxiliary Machinery Rooms; HFP (Heptafluoropropane), which replaces HALON for MOGAS, and JP-5 space protection; Aqueous Film Forming Foam from portable extinguishers; Ship Service Diesel Generator Enclosure Sprinkling; Sea Water Sprinkling (i.e. Berthing, Storerooms, etc) a Smoke Removal System and a Collective Protective System for living spaces.

· Environmental Friendly. The LPD 17 class will have minimal and manageable environmental impact. The pollution mitigation devices installed on the LPD 17 class are state-of-the-art for warships and meet the requirements of regulatory agencies and present day law and the design has space and weight margins in place to accommodate back fit of future environmentally required systems. The ship has an oil pollution control system capable of processing bilge water to meet current Federal requirements with the capability of returning water for further processing if output requirements are exceeded, and its Air Conditioning, Refrigeration, and Fire Suppression Systems are free of Chlorofluorocarbons and Halons - a Navy first.

· Food Service. LPD 17 will be able to provide traditional food service and pre-prepared food to meet the needs of Sailors and Marines. Its "combi" oven steams, dry roasts and combines both functions. The ovens can steam vegetables or broast any type of meat, even cook crispy French fries.

· Knuckleboom Crane. LPD 17's boat and cargo crane will be a "reduced radar signature" hydraulic crane. The 22,000 lb. rated, 65 ft. knuckleboom crane will be able to place Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats from the boat valley to the waterline, recover the boats, or load cargo pierside or at sea. The newly designed crane utilizes a positive control "Derrick Head" capturing device that affords safe boat operations through Sea State 3 conditions.

· Metric Ship. LPD 17 will be a hybrid metric ship, the first major construction Navy ship to be so constructed. Wherever possible the LPD 17 class was designed using the metric system for linear dimensions and other parameters. Most machinery parameters remain in English foot-pound measures.

· MV-22/EFV-Compatible. The LPD 17 class will be the first ship designed for compatibility with the MV-22 Osprey and the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle.

o The MV-22 is a joint service, multi-mission aircraft with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capability. The MV-22 will fly twice as fast, several times further, and with a heavier payload than the helicopters it replaces. It can operate as a helicopter when taking off and landing vertically and once airborne becomes a high-speed, fuel-efficient turboprop airplane. The wing rotates for compact storage aboard ship. LPD 17 will be able to support four aircraft on its flight deck.

o The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) will replace the Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV) as the primary combat vehicle for transporting troops on land and from ship to shore. The EFV has the capability to maneuver, combat loaded with a Marine rifle squad, at 20-25 knots in the water and maneuver cross country with agility and mobility equal or greater than that of the M1 Main Battle Tank (MBT). LPD’s can carry at least 14 EFVs along with air cushion landing craft inside its well deck and vehicle stowage areas.

· Reverse Osmosis Water Generating Plant. Navy ships have traditionally used distillation for purifying seawater into potable water - the salt water was flashed and the condensate collected. LPD 17 will use a Reverse Osmosis system, also known as hyper filtration, which will remove particles as small as ions from the seawater through a semi-permeable membrane. It will purify water and remove salts and other impurities in order to obtain water for drinking, vehicle and aircraft wash downs and other shipboard uses. Equally important, in LPD 17, this system will produce 72,000 gals of potable water daily.

· Shipboard Ship Wide Area Network. The shipboard wide area network (SWAN) developed for LPD 17 is a fiber optic ship wide large area computer network. The SWAN will support everything from combat systems to ship control systems to command and control nodes to an integrated training system. This network also provides e-mail and Internet access capability through over 760 drops throughout the ship.

· Stabilized 30mm Gun. For close-in small boat threats LPD 17 will rely upon two Mk 46 Mod 1, 30mm guns for defense. Against such threats, ships currently use machine guns or manned, visually sighted 25mm chain guns. In LPD 17 these guns will have longer range, be more accurate, be capable of being fired remotely and use close loop fire control, forward looking infrared, or laser range finding against surface threats. The guns will be stabilized to improve accuracy at sea and employ the same kind of training, maintenance, and ammunition as the Marines' 30mm gun in the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicles.

The 684-foot, 25,000-ton vessel is the first U.S. Navy ship named for the city of San Antonio, Texas. The ship is commanded by Capt. J. M. Padfield, who, together with his officers and crew of about 360, assumes the duty of making and keeping San Antonio ready for any service required by our nation. In accordance with Navy tradition, the Jan. 14 commissioning will ceremonially mark San Antonio’s acceptance by the U.S. Navy.

Former President George H. W. Bush is slated to serve as principal speaker for the commissioning ceremony. Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England and the Chief of Naval Operations Michael Mullen will also give remarks.

The Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison, the ship’s sponsor, will be among other distinguished guests attending the ceremony. As sponsor Hutchison was also on hand for the ship’s christening on July 19, 2003. The ship is being built by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems. San Antonio will be homeported in Norfolk, Va.

-USN-

NOTES TO MEDIA: There will be a media availability on board San Antonio on Thursday, Jan. 12, beginning at 9 a.m. Media interested in attending this availability, during which they will be taken through the ship and have the opportunity to speak with the ship’s commanding officer and members of the crew, should contact the Naval Station Ingleside Public Affairs Office at 361-776-4205.

Media interested in attending the commissioning ceremony should contact the Naval Station Ingleside Public Affairs Office at 361-776-4205.