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The LPD-17 is on track for contract award in the spring of 1996 but we must be careful to keep the ship—the only game in town—from becoming a one-of-a- kind guinea pig, absorbing scarce funds at the expense of providing needed troop lift.
Don’t “bells and whistles ” the LPD-17 to death. There was little real interest in developing a modern workhorse amphibious ship until planners realized that the LPD-17 would be the only ’Gator built until the Tarawa (LHA-l)-class replacements begin arriving in the second decade of the 21st century.
This may be changing. 1 recently attended the second Naval Sea Systems Command (NavSEA)-sponsored LPD-17 Fleet Review Conference and was surprised to see the major design changes—to the good, save one or two items—that have been put into the ship at the insistence of the Congress, the Marine Corps, and the Navy.
Many of the features that my colleague Commander Jake Hankins and I had noted in the “Picking the Latest ’Gator” article [Proceedings, August 1992, pages 91-93.] are still in the ship, but there are some very significant additions. These additions will indeed cost the Department of the Navy more in time, design, and money,
Now the ship is to have a cooperative engagement capability with the AN/SPS-48E and AN/SPQ-9 series radars plus selfdefense weapons against sea skimmers. Topside space will accommodate rigid inflatable boats for SEALs and explosive ordnance disposal teams.
We should be content to leave the LPD-17 design alone as the complete design process is finished. Other than small-scale design adjustments, we must resist attempts by various well meaning—although probably self-serving—organizations to continue to add assorted bells and whistles to the ship. We should plan on upgrading the LPD-17. but only after the lead ship is in the water.
The LPD-17 must be delivered just after the turn of the 21st Century in order to contribute its share of the wartime amphibious lift goal as well as support the forward deployed naval presence mission. Five shipyards actively are participating in the design process with the Naval Sea Systems Command—a sure sign that our nation’s exceptional ship builders want to remain viable in the lean building years ahead.
The ship’s primary mission remains amphibious warfare: to embark, transport and land elements of a landing force in an assault by helicopters, landing craft, and amphibian vehicles. The ship will be selfsupporting, with capabilities to load, transport, and off-load troops and heavy equipment—including both wheeled and tracked vehicles.
As NavSEA has learned from earlier ship design efforts, designing space and moment compensation features into a ship such as the LPD-17 will assist in keeping this class around until the end of its service life of 40 years without overburdening the ship.
Time is indeed running out on the ability for the older gators—the LPD-4s, LST-1179s, and LSD-36s —to continue the present operational tempo, find time for maintenance, and—most important—keep the young officers and sailors in the Navy today to man the LPD-17 as department heads, executive and commanding officers, and leading chiefs when it reaches the fleet in 2002.
Captain O’Neil, a surface warfare officer, is the Commanding Officer. Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, Norfolk. Virginia. He has served on eight ships— four of them ’Gators—and commanded the USS Harlem County fLST-1196).
Proceedings / January 1995
45