HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding has finished acceptance trials for a new amphibious warship.
The future USS Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD-29) is back from acceptance trials and will deliver to the Navy within the next few weeks, the company announced in a Monday news release.
“The Ingalls’ Test and Trials team spent several days with the U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey running the ship at full power and through steering maneuvers,” the release reads. “The team will now complete final finish work on the San Antonio-class ship in preparation for delivery to the U.S. Navy in weeks ahead.”
McCool is the last LPD-17 Flight I ship in the San Antonio-class line. Ingalls is also currently building the first Flight II ships – the future USS Harrisburg (LPD-30) and the future USS Pittsburgh (LPD-31) – at its yard in Pascagoula, Miss.
McCool‘s delivery comes after the ship experienced an unspecified mechanical problem with its propulsion system during trials last year. A spokeswoman for Ingalls said the problem has been fixed.
“In the case of amphibious transport dock Richard M. McCool, Jr. (LPD-29), the ship experienced a technical propulsion issue that delayed sea trials,” Ingalls spokeswoman Kimberly Aguillard said in a statement to USNI News.
“The combined team has prevailed and we believe the issue is behind us. The ship performed exceptionally well during trials and we remain dedicated to delivering this important asset to our Navy and Marine Corps partners.”
McCool is named after Navy Capt. Richard McCool, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions off the coast of Okinawa in 1945.
The amphibious transport dock is part of a class of ships that the Pentagon’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office has put a pause on buying so it can assess the future of the LPD line and any possible cost savings within the platform.
