San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock

The San Antonio class is the United States Navy’s new primary class of amphibious transport dock (LPD) in the beginning of the 21st century. It is replacing the older Austin, Cleveland, and Trenton-class LPDs as well as the Anchorage-class dock landing ships, Newport-class tank landing ships, and one class that has already been retired, the Charleston-class amphibious cargo ships.

Twelve San Antonios were originally planned, but only eleven ships are funded as a result of budget cuts and cost overruns. The average cost is US$1.6bn, compared to an original target of $890m. As of May 2013 seven are in service.