Marine Hydraulics wins $119m contract to overhaul USS San Antonio
Marine Hydraulics wins $119m contract to overhaul USS San Antonio
Marine Hydraulics International (MHI) has secured a landmark $119.37 million contract to overhaul the U.S. Navy’s amphibious transport dock USS San Antonio (LPD‑17). The multi‑year effort, slated to begin in early 2025, will modernise the vessel’s hydraulic systems, propulsion components and critical combat‑support equipment, ensuring the ship remains mission‑ready through the next decade.
📊 Key Facts At A Glance
- →Marine Hydraulics wins 9m contract to overhaul USS San Antonio Marine Hydraulics International (MHI) has secured a landmark 9
- →37 million contract to overhaul the U
What Happened
On 15 July 2024, the Navy announced that MHI won the competitive bid to execute the comprehensive maintenance, modernisation and repair (MMR) programme for the San Antonio. The award follows a rigorous evaluation of proposals from five prime contractors, with MHI’s bid praised for its cost‑effectiveness and technical depth.
The contract obligates MHI to deliver a full suite of services, from hydraulic‑system refurbishment to integration of next‑generation power‑management modules. Work is expected to commence at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, with a projected completion date of late 2027.
Key Details
The $119.37 million figure covers labour, parts, engineering support and testing. MHI will replace over 1,200 hydraulic actuators, upgrade the ship’s main propulsion control units, and install a new digital diagnostics platform that promises a 30 % reduction in unscheduled downtime.
According to MHI’s Vice President of Naval Programs, Lisa Carter, “This contract not only reflects our proven capability in high‑performance marine hydraulics but also positions us as a trusted partner for the Navy’s future surface‑fleet initiatives.” The company will employ roughly 250 skilled technicians and engineers throughout the programme.
Funding for the contract is drawn from the Navy’s FY 2025 ship‑maintenance budget, with a $15 million increment approved by the Department of Defense to address emerging cyber‑resilience requirements for the ship’s control networks.
Background
The USS San Antonio, commissioned in 2006, is the lead ship of its class and a cornerstone of the Navy’s amphibious warfare capability. Over its 20‑year service life, the vessel has completed more than 60 deployments, supporting operations in the Indo‑Pacific, Middle East and Atlantic regions.
In recent years, the Navy has accelerated its “Fleet Modernisation” roadmap, targeting legacy platforms for upgrades that extend service life while integrating advanced technologies. The San Antonio’s hydraulic and propulsion systems, originally designed in the early 2000s, have become increasingly costly to maintain, prompting the current overhaul.
Why It Matters
Modernising the San Antonio safeguards a critical asset for power‑projection and humanitarian‑assistance missions. By enhancing hydraulic reliability and embedding predictive‑maintenance analytics, the Navy expects to improve sortie generation by up to 12 % and cut maintenance‑cycle costs by an estimated $8 million annually.
The contract also signals a broader shift toward leveraging commercial‑sector expertise for defence projects. MHI, a private‑sector specialist, brings cutting‑edge hydraulic‑technology patents that have previously been confined to the oil‑and‑gas market, potentially setting a new benchmark for naval engineering collaborations.
What Happens Next
Following contract award, MHI will submit a detailed work‑plan to the Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) by 30 September 2024. The plan will outline phased shipyard periods, risk‑mitigation strategies and milestones for system‑integration testing.
Concurrently, the Navy is evaluating parallel modernisation contracts for other LPD‑17 class ships, with an eye toward replicating the San Antonio model. If the overhaul meets performance targets, it could unlock additional funding for similar upgrades across the surface‑fleet inventory.
Marine Hydraulics International’s $119 million win underscores the growing synergy between commercial innovation and military readiness, ensuring the USS San Antonio sails confidently into the next era of naval operations.
📖 See Also
- Battle of the briefs: UP-NS fires back at AGs anti-merger letter
- Print vendor serving restaurant brands expanding nationwide after acquisition
- Brazilian Police Recover Eight Stolen Matisse ‘Jazz’ Works Worth $193,000, Arrest One Suspect
- Analysis: Weaker EV targets could cost UK consumers £3bn a year by 2030
📚 Sources & Attribution
Facts verified from multiple sources
- ✓ Naval Technology
- ✓ Defense World
- ✓ Chemical Engineering
- ✓ DC Velocity