PASCAGOULA, Miss., Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HII (NYSE: HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division began fabrication of the U.S. Navy’s newest San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock Philadelphia (LPD 32) Monday. The start of fabrication signifies that the first 100 tons of steel have been cut for the ship.

“From the earliest planning stages to the first cut of steel, every step of construction so far has been focused on building a capable ship for our Navy and Marine Corps partners,” said Stephen Janowski, Ingalls Shipbuilding amphibious ship program manager. “Our team is committed to continuous improvement and seeing Philadelphia built with the quality craftsmanship needed to support our nation well into the future.”

Ingalls is the sole provider of LPD 17 San Antonio-class ships and has delivered LPDs 17 through 29 to date. Currently, Ingalls has three Flight II LPDs under construction including Harrisburg (LPD 30), Pittsburgh (LPD 31) and Philadelphia (LPD 32). Additionally, in September 2024, the Navy awarded Ingalls a contract for the construction of three San Antonio Class Amphibious Transport Dock (LPD) ships (LPD 33, LPD 34, and LPD 35).

LPD Flight II is the next generation amphibious ship to replace the Whidbey Island (LSD 41) and Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) classes of dock landing ships. Amphibious transport docks are a major part of the Navy’s 21^st century expeditionary force, deployed with a U.S. Marine Corps Air-Ground Task Force for amphibious and expeditionary crisis response operations that range from deterrence and joint-force enablement to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Photos accompanying this release are available at: http://hii.com/news/hii-begins-fabrication-of-amphibious-transport-dock-philadelphia-lpd-32/.

About HII

HII is a global, all-domain defense provider. HII’s mission is to deliver the world’s most powerful ships and all-domain solutions in service of the nation, creating the advantage for our customers to protect peace and freedom around the world.

As the nation’s largest military shipbuilder, and with a more than 135-year history of advancing U.S. national security, HII delivers critical capabilities extending from ships to unmanned systems, cyber, ISR, AI/ML and synthetic training. Headquartered in Virginia, HII’s workforce is 44,000 strong. For more information, visit:

• HII on the web: https://www.HII.com/
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Contact:

Kimberly K. Aguillard
228-355-5663
Kimberly.K.Aguillard@hii-co.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d45d5d19-0421-4ba8-ae30-f186fa4a4055