Jamie Bennet
HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division recently held a keel-laying ceremony for the USS Fallujah, an America-class amphibious assault ship.
HII announced Wednesday that its keel authentication event was witnessed by officials, including Undersecretary of the Navy Erik Raven and Donna Berger, the wife of former U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Lt. Gen. David Berger and the ship’s sponsor. Her initials were welded onto the keel plate as she declared the structure “truly and fairly laid.”
Also present at the event was Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson, who said her organization was honored to mark the milestone.
The vessel was named after the first and second Battles of Fallujah, which were U.S.-led offensives during the Iraq War. Its fabrication began in December 2022, marking Ingalls’ fourth large-deck amphibious assault vehicle under the America class.
It features a well deck surface assault capability, a flight deck for F-35B Joint Strike Fighter and MV-22 Osprey aircraft and medical triage and surgical units.
