Naming Ceremony For US Navy Amphibious Transport Dock Ship

The newest U.S. Navy amphibious transport dock ship — the future USS Harrisburg — will be christened at a special ceremony tomorrow (Saturday) to be held at HII firm Ingalls Shipbuilding's dockyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

The Harrisburg (LPD-30), named after the capital city of Pennsylvania, will become the force’s 14th and most modern San Antonio-class vessel.

The Harrisburg is the first Flight II design in its class; the upgraded vessels will replace the Whidbey Island class and the Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ships.

The ship's role is to transport and land Marines, their equipment, and supplies via embarked landing craft, hovercraft, and amphibious assault vehicles, aided by helicopters and/or vertical take-off and landing aircraft. The vessel can support amphibious assault, special operations, or expeditionary warfare missions and serve as an aviation platform.

As well as the USS Harrisburg, Ingalls currently has its sister ship Pittsburg under construction, and the firm is also gearing up to build a third Flight II amphibious transport dock ship, the Philadelphia.

In September 2024 it also won a contract to build three further as-yet unnamed vessels to the same design, the last of which is scheduled to be completed in early 2030.

• You can read more details on the HII website