GD NASSCO wins another Navy MLP contract

The Lewis Puller, launched in November, was the first MLP configured as an Afloat Forward Staging Base

DECEMBER 23, 2014—General Dynamics NASSCO, San Diego, CA, will build its fourth Mobile Landing Platform and second configured as an Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB) for mine countermeasure (MCM) helicopters and special operations forces (SOF) and U.S. Marines under a $498 million contract by the U.S. Navy.

What’s interesting about the ship is that it is based on an Alaska Class tanker design, demonstrating clear synergy between GD NASSCO’s commercial and Navy shipbuilding activity. Under this option, NASSCO will provide the detail design and construction efforts to build the second AFSB of the Mobile Landing Platform-class ships. The work will be performed at NASSCO’s San Diego shipyard and will be completed by March 2018.

This past November, GD NASSCO launched the Lewis B. Puller (T-MLP-3/T-AFSB-1), the first MLP configured as an Afloat Forward Staging Base. 

The MLP AFSB is a flexible platform and a key element in the Navy’s large-scale airborne mine countermeasures mission. With accommodations for 250 personnel and a large helicopter flight deck, the MLP AFSB will provide a highly capable, innovative and affordable asset to the Navy and Marine Corps.