NORFOLK (AP) -- The Navy's new amphibious transport dock ship will be based at the Norfolk Navy base.
USS Arlington is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in December 2011. It will be the eighth in the San Antonio class of ships, a group that ultimately will replace 27 ships from three amphibious-ship classes now in service.
U.S. Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) said the decision announced Tuesday reinforces the strategic importance of Norfolk and affirms its place as the preeminent Navy town on the East Coast.
He said the homeporting will bring an estimated $25 million of economic activity to the region annually.
"Moreover, Norfolk’s capabilities underscore the fact that we do not need to spend one billion dollars on redundant facilities to homeport a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Mayport, Florida. At a time when the Navy’s shipbuilding program, aircraft procurement, and military construction programs are under great stress, taxpayer dollars would be better spent funding the Navy’s current backlog of critical priorities," Sen. Webb noted.
The Arlington is being built in Pascagoula, Mississippi. It was named to honor the 184 victims who died after American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. The ship also honors the military and civilian employees, and the rescue workers who provided assistance after the attack.
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