Clean Sweep for USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19)

For awhile, it was hard to find good news for the San Antonio class program, but with ship 19-25 on budget (albeit a higher budget than expected) the program is finally getting good news. In August the USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) went on building trials, and defensenews is reporting the results.

With the U.S. Navy still smarting from the unsatisfactory delivery of two amphibious ships, Northrop Grumman has put a special emphasis on making sure the third ship avoids the pitfalls of its predecessors.

If early returns are any indication, the shipbuilder and the Navy might be third time lucky.

The USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) carried out its initial builder’s trials in mid-August in the Gulf of Mexico. The ship returned Aug. 16 to Northrop’s Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula flying two brooms — a traditional “clean sweep” symbol representing success for both the Navy and Northrop Grumman.

But while the shipbuilder might be expected to trumpet its success, the ultimate goal is to please the customer. And the customer, at least at this stage, seems happy.

The Mesa Verde “sets a new standard for the LPD class as far as being a complete ship,” said Capt. Beth Dexter, the Navy’s supervisor of shipbuilding in Pascagoula. “My Navy team is proud to present it.”

Well, considering the previous standard was pretty low, it is hard to tell exactly how the USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) could have done anything but set a new standard, but with aging Austin class in bad need of a replacement, it is good to see these ships coming online.