Mary-Louise Hoffman
General Dynamics NASSCO has handed to the U.S. Navy a second mobile landing platform-class vessel that is designed for amphibious staging and vehicle transfer operations.
The General Dynamics subsidiary began construction work on the USNS John Glenn in April 2012 and plans to undock the third MLP ship in November, NASSCO said Wednesday.
Fred Harris, NASSCO president, said the MLP-2 is built to support U.S. naval missions around the world.
MLP-2 is 785 feet long and functions as a transfer platform between small landing craft and large vessels, according to NASSCO.
The third MLP ship is scheduled for delivery to the Navy during the second quarter of 2015.
NASSCO says MLP-3 will be designed to function as an afloat forward staging base for marine vessels.
