USS San Antonio

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This looks like a great ship.

NEWS RELEASES from the United States Department of Defense

No. 031-06 IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan 11, 2006 Media Contact: (703)697-5131
Public/Industry(703)428-0711

Navy Commissions Amphibious Transport Dock Ship San Antonio

The U.S. Navy will commission the USS San Antonio, lead ship of
the latest class of amphibious ships, at 11 a.m. CDT, Jan. 14, 2006, at
Naval Station Ingleside, Texas.

Former President George H. W. Bush will deliver the ceremonys
principal address. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison will serve as the ships
sponsor and will give the first order to "Man our ship and bring her to life!"

Capt. Jonathan M. Padfield of Salt Lake City, Utah, is the ships
first commanding officer and will lead a crew of 360 officers and
enlisted personnel. The ship is capable of embarking a landing force of up to 800 Marines.

Built by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, the USS San Antonio is 684
feet in length, has an overall beam of 105 feet, a navigational draft
of 23 feet and displaces about 25,000 tons. Four turbo-charged diesels power the ship to sustained speeds of 24 knots. As a member of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, the USS San Antonio will be homeported in Norfolk, Va.

The USS San Antonio is the lead ship in the Navys new LPD 17 class
that will serve as the functional replacement of four amphibious ship
classes, LPD 4, LSD 36, LST 1179 and LKA 113, that have reached or are nearing the end of their service life.

The ship will provide greatly improved warfighting capabilities
including: an advanced command and control suite; increased lift
capacity with substantial increases in vehicle and cargo carrying capability; and advanced ship survivability features. The ship supports the Marine Corps "mobility triad," the Landing Craft Air Cushion vehicle, the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle and the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, making this class a critical element of tomorrows amphibious ready groups and expeditionary strike groups.

The new design also features the latest in command, control,
communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance capabilities with dedicated intelligence, mission planning, and command and control spaces. The USS San Antonios shipboard wide area network is a fiber optic shipwide large area computer network, which will support numerous operations including combat systems, ship systems, command and control nodes, and an integrated training system.

This expeditionary warship class will be the most survivable amphibious vessel ever put to sea. The ship's automated combat system
includes a highly capable sensor suite and weapons that provide a
robust self-defense capability. The San Antonio's design reduces its radar
cross-section signature by streamlining topside design and incorporating other advanced technologies.

The USS San Antonio also features the advanced enclosed
mast/sensor system (AEM/S) that replaces conventional masts, protecting radar and communications antennae from weather and reducing the ships
vulnerability to detection by hostile radar. The AEM/S, the defining feature of the ships distinctive profile, is the largest composite material structure ever installed on a U.S. Navy steel ship.

Furthermore, the USS San Antonio incorporates the latest quality
of life standards for the embarked Marines and sailors, including the
sit-up berth, ship services mall, a fitness center and learning resource
center/electronic classroom. The ship has the flexibility to accommodate a mixed-gender crew and embarked troops.

Reduced operational costs and an improved capability to periodically insert advanced technology over its planned 40-year service life
were also essential design objectives for LPD 17. Accordingly, the design
team incorporated hundreds of suggestions and recommendations received from sailors and Marines during formal review sessions in a "Design for
Ownership" process to ensure that these ships will meet their needs throughout the first half of the 21st century.



For additional information about this class of ship,
please
visit
theNavyFactFile:http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=600&
ct=4 .