The Navy launched yesterday the first ship of its new Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) class less than two years after the start of fabrication, according to a service statement.
Designed to provide logistics movement from sea to shore, the new class of ships will provide the Navy with a dedicated seabasing capability. Prime contractor General Dynamics [GD] said in September the first MLP will be delivered in the second quarter of 2013. The ship was constructed at GD’s NASSCO shipyard in San Diego.
The ship will leverage float-on/float-off technology, which will allow the ship to be partially submerged, facilitating easy movement of cargo and craft. Additionally, the ship’s size allows for 25,000 square feet of vehicle and equipment stowage space and 380,000 gallons of JP-5 fuel storage.
The future USNS Montford Point (MLP 1) will be the lead ship of the class. The Navy ordered three of the MLP ships, which are designed to be forward staging platforms to provide rapid support to the fleet, or provide a base for operations.
NASSCO began construction on the second MLP, the USNS John Glenn, earlier this year. The 765-foot long ship is scheduled for delivery in early 2014. NASSCO has construction contracts to build a total of three MLPs (Defense Daily, Sept. 11).