Military Nuts Ship of the year? USS LPD17 sails for 1st time

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LPD-17 Ship, San Antonio, Sails for the First Time

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The LPD 17 USS San Antonio is the first surface ship ever designed in "virtual reality." . After it revealed in 1996 by then Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton, it was only last week she sailed for the 1st into the Gulf of Mexico for the sea trial:

What impressed me is the ship's SSDS (SHIP SELF DEFENCE SYSTEM)
and AEMS Mast.

Northrop=Grumman Press Release:

The U.S. Navy's newest amphibious ship, the future USS San Antonio (LPD 17), sailed from Northrop Grumman Ship Systems' Pascagoula shipyard Friday morning (April 29) to undergo her initial at-sea testing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Update: LPD 17 RETURNS FROM SEA TRIALS -- The U.S. Navy's newest amphibious ship, the future USS SAN ANTONIO (LPD 17), sailed from Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE: NOC) Pascagoula shipyard for the first time on April 29, 2005, for her initial at-sea testing in the Gulf of Mexico. The new ship returned to the shipyard May 3, 2005 for resumption of dockside pre-delivery testing and crew training.

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Ship Characteristics
Length 684 feet (208.5 meters)
Beam 105 feet (31.9 meters)
Displacement Approximately 24,900 tons full load
Speed In excess of 22 knots (24.2 mph)
Aircraft Four CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters or two MV-22
tilt rotor aircraft may be launched or recovered
simultaneously. The ships hangar can store 1-2 aircraft.
Armament Two 30 mm Close-in-Guns, for surface threat defense; two Rolling Airframe Missile launchers for air defense
Landing Craft Two LCACs (air cushion) or one LCU (conventional)
AAAVs 14 Marine Corps Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicles
Power plant Four Colt-Pielstick diesel engines, two shafts, 40,000 Hp
Crew 361 (28 officers, 333 enlisted)
Troops 699 (66 officers, 633 enlisted); surge to 800 total.
LPD 17 Class San Antonio (LPD 17). New Orleans (LPD 1 Cool , Mesa Verde
(LPD 19), Green Bay (LPD 20), and New York (LPD 21)
Motto Never Retreat, Never Surrender
Dates Construction of LPD 17 began in 2000 and keel laying took place in December 2001. The ship was launched in July 2003 and then christened by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas. The ship will be delivered to the Navy in 2004 and then commissioned as USS San Antonio in 2005

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Sorri guys, the previous pic too large and I alreadi modified that , here is another pic:

Razz