Ingalls Shipbuilding laid the keel for the future USS Fallujah (LHA-9) Thursday, the shipbuilder announced.
Ship sponsor, Donna Berger, wife of Gen. David Berger, the 38th commandant of the Marine Corps, attended the keel authentication ceremony, according to a news release from HII. Berger’s initials were welded into a ceremonial keel plate that will stay with the ship.
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro named the helicopter landing assault ship after the first and second battles of Fallujah, he announced in December, during the promotion ceremony for the Marine Corps mascot, USNI News previously reported.
“It is an honor for me for our nation to memorialize the Marines, the soldiers and coalition forces that fought valiantly and those who sacrificed their lives during both battles of Fallujah,” he said in the December news release.
Amphibious ships are typically named after battles, former ships or World War II carriers, Del Toro said when he announced the name.
“It is an honor for me for our nation to memorialize the Marines, the soldiers and coalition forces that fought valiantly and those who sacrificed their lives during both battles of Fallujah,” he said in the December news release.
Fallujah “will be the second Flight I ship and will retain the aviation capability of the America-class design while adding the surface assault capability of a well deck and a larger flight deck configured for F-35B Joint Strike Fighter and MV-22 Osprey aircraft. It will also provide additional cargo stowage capacities and enable a broader, more flexible command and control capability,” reads a December statement from Naval Sea Systems Command.
The first two America-class ships – USS America (LHA-6) and USS Tripoli (LHA-7) – were built to emphasize aircraft operations and did not include well decks.
Ingalls began the initial construction of the amphib in December, USNI News reported at the time.
The Navy awarded HII a $2.4 billion contract in October to build Fallujah, according to an HII news release.
HII previously delivered the first and second America-class landing helicopter assault ships. The third, the future USS Bougainville (LHA-8), is under construction but is expected to launch in 2023.
