Awarded 6 November 2006 Sponsored by Mrs. Joyce Rumsfeld Construction started 18 December 2008 | Laid down 26 May 2008 Christened 26 March 2011 Launched 23 November 2010 | |
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Commissioned 8 February 2013 (official) | ||
USS Arlington (LPD-24), a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, is the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Arlington, Virginia, the location of the Pentagon. Like her sister ships, USS New York and Somerset, she is named in commemoration of the 11 September 2001 attacks. Steel taken from the Pentagon after the 11 September attacks is displayed aboard in the ship's museum.
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Construction
Arlington's keel was laid down on 26 May 2008, at Northrop Grumman's Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Builder's Trials of the ship started on 21 August 2012. These were completed on 30 August 2012.
She completed Navy acceptance sea trials on 2 November 2012. The US Navy formally accepted the ship on 7 December 2012. Arlington arrived at her homeport of Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia on 22 March 2013 in preparation for commissioning. Officially, she was commissioned on 8 February 2013, but her ceremonial commissioning occurred on 6 April 2013 at Naval Station Norfolk, CDR Darren Nelson in command. Originally scheduled as the third ship of the San Antonio class; she was the eighth to be commissioned.
The San Antonio-class ships have been plagued by construction problems.
Mrs. Joyce Rumsfeld, wife of former United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, is the ship's sponsor.
Operational history
In August 2013, Arlington conducted trials with the NASA's Orion spacecraft.
