Mobile Landing Platform - MLP |
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Description
The Mobile Landing Platform is a highly flexible ship that provides logistics movement from sea to shore supporting a broad range of military operations. The MLP ship class leverages an existing commercial design, the Alaska class crude oil carrier built by General Dynamics' National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), to ensure design stability and low development costs. These ships will operate within Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadrons as mobile sea bases providing the U.S. Navy Fleet with a critical access infrastructure that supports the flexible deployment of forces and supplies. The MLP class will leverage float-on/ float-off technology and a reconfigurable mission deck to maximize capability. The platform in its basic form possesses add-on modules that support a vehicle staging area, vehicle transfer ramp, large mooring fenders and up to three LCAC vessel lanes to support its core requirements. The MLP class will be operated by Military Sealift Command personnel. |
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Background
Since 2005, the Navy has conducted a series of at-sea exercises demonstrating the ability to transfer vehicles between a surrogate Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) ship and a Large Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off (LMSR) ship. Using the surrogate MLP, M/V Mighty Servant 3, personnel and vehicles were successfully transferred to the USNS Soderman through employment of a vehicle transfer ramp. The ships were able to successfully demonstrate transfer ability in high sea state three and low sea state four conditions.
The Navy worked in close partnership with NASSCO to identify cost savings early in the MLP design process while pursuing a concurrent design and production engineering approach. Following the successful production readiness review - an evaluation of the ship's design maturity, availability of materials, and the shipbuilder's ability to successfully start construction - the secretary of the Navy certified the design and informed Congress that the design of MLP was more than 85 percent complete and ready to proceed with fabrication.
On April 27, 2011, the Navy awarded NASSCO a fixed-price incentive fee type contract for the detail design and construction of MLP 1 and MLP 2. A detail design and construction contract was subsequently awarded for MLP 3 on February 26, 2012. The Navy issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) on March 9, 2012 for the government designed Core Capability Set (CCS) which is expected to be award in early fiscal year 2013. USNS Montford Point (MPL 1) is expected to deliver in fiscal year 2013 and be operational in fiscal year 2015. Fabrication on the second ship, USNS John Glenn, began in April 2012. The ship will be erected in the same graving dock as MLP 1 upon its launch on November 13. |
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Point Of Contact
Office of Corporate Communication (SEA 00D)
Naval Sea Systems Command
Washington, D.C. 20376 |
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General Characteristics, Montford Point Class
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| Builder: NASSCO |
| Propulsion: Commercial Diesel Electric Propulsion |
| Length: 239.3 Meters (785 feet) |
| Beam: 50 Meters (164 feet) |
| Displacement: 80,000 tons (fully loaded) |
| Draft: 9 Meters (fully loaded); 12 Meters (load line) |
| Speed: 15 knots |
| Range: 9500 nautical miles |
| Crew: 34 Military Sealift Command personnel |
| Ships: |
| USNS Montford Point (MLP 1) - Under construction |
| USNS John Glenn (MLP 2) - Under construction |
| USNS Lewis B. Puller (MLP 3) - Under construction |
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| Last Update: 9 November 2012 |
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