PASCAGOULA, Miss. - The amphibious assault ship Makin Island (LHD 8) returned from successful three-day builder's sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico this week. The ship is the eighth USS Wasp-class amphibious assault ship being built by Northrop Grumman at its Gulf Coast facilities in Pascagoula. The ship is 844 feet long and 106 feet wide and weighs 42,800 tons and is designed to transport and land a Marine Expeditionary Unit by helicopter, landing craft and amphibious assault vehicle. It will also have secondary missions of sea control and power projection by helicopter and fixed-wing vertical short take-off and landing aircraft; command and control; and mission support, including a hospital with six operating rooms. Makin Island is scheduled for commissioning at her San Diego homeport in October 2009. (Source: Globe Newswire, 02/10/09)
