Signatures were signed for 2 major programs of the US Navy, which had been announced a long time ago, but now they have also been assigned to shipyards. Specifically, 3 San Antonio-class landing support vessels were ordered from Huntington Ingalls, with a contract worth 5.8 billion dollars. San Antonio is described as a Landing Platform Dock (LPD), a 25,000-ton, 208-meter-long displacement, and its role is to transport a battalion of Marines and their supplies, and amphibious armored vehicles, as well as amphibious transports ashore. While the ships themselves have anti-aircraft capabilities to be able to operate in high-risk environments (2 RAM launchers and cannons).
The US Navy already has 13 such boats in service, and has ordered a total of 6 more (the last 3 are the current contract) in an improved version called Flight II. The 3 on order will start production in 2025, 2027 and 2029 respectively.
Also again, the same shipyard took an order for another amphibious operations vessel, America class, worth 3.9 billion dollars. This class is the US Marine Corps’ “small” aircraft carriers, 45,000-ton, 257-meter-long, which carry F-35B fighters, and MV-22B Osprey helicopters such as the Super Stallion, AH-1Z Viper, and others, while the last models of the class also have a floating tank to serve landing boats.
The Americas are the base of the MEUs, i.e. the Marine Expeditionary Units that are in full readiness for intervention anywhere in the world. The class has 2 ships in service, 2 under construction and the new order is the third.
