According to a tweet published by NAVSEA on July 20, 2022, during future USS Fort Lauderdale’s transit from HII in Pascagoula, MS to Fort Lauderdale, FL where the ship is to be commissioned, they worked with Assault Craft Unit 4 as LCAC 103 and 104 entered the well deck.
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The future San Antonio class LPD Fort Lauderdale and the Landing Craft Air Cushion (Picture source: NAVSEA)
USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) will be the twelfth San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship of the United States Navy, the ship is the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The San Antonio class is powered by four sequentially turbocharged marine Colt-Pielstick diesel engines driving two shafts. She can reach a top speed of 22 knots (41 km/h). She has a crew of 28 officers and 333 enlisted sailors.
The ship is armed with two Bushmaster II 30 mm close-in-guns, two Rolling Airframe Missile launchers, two Mk 41 eight-cell VLS for quad-packed ESSMs, and several twin M2 Browning machines gun turrets.
About the Landing Craft Air Cushion
The Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) is a class of air-cushioned landing craft (hovercraft) used by the United States Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).
They transport weapons systems, equipment, cargo, and personnel from ship to shore and across the beach. It is to be replaced in US service by the Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC).
Air cushion technology makes some 70 percent of the world's shoreline accessible to landing forces versus 15 percent with traditional amphibious ships.
The LCAC is designed to be carried and operate from all Navy amphibious ships that possess a well deck, the large, enclosed space located in the stern of many amphibious warfare ships, which allows LCACs, amphibious vehicles, and boats to load men, vehicles and supplies directly from the ship's interior.
