The LPD (Landing Platform Dock) Kaalat Beni-Abbes for the Algerian Navy has been developed as a technological enhancement of the Italian LPD “San Giusto” class. The Ship maintains and improves some of most significant characteristics of the San Giusto class, in particular the full-length flight deck and the amphibious capability maintaining the floodable dock and the foldable structural covers of the dock itself to permit to reconfigure the garage deck as Ro-Ro arrangement. On this ship the garage can be used also as hangar to recover Lynx type helicopter. The main enhancements are in the combat system both in terms of sensors and eectors, the vessel is in fact equipped with a medium-range missile system (SAAM ER) as well as eective artillery systems dedicated to self-defense. The vessel can also operate as a command ship and equipped with a medium-range anti-missile system. From the floodable dock can be launched and recovered a 19 mts long LCM (Landing Craft Mechanized); two other LCM of the same size can be parked on the garage deck moving them from and for the dock using an overhead bridge crane with a lifting capacity of 70 tons. The garage/hangar deck can host both wheeled and tracked vehicles of the embarked landing force or vehicles to support the civil population in case of disaster relief mission. An elevator can move wheeled vehicles up to a weight of 30 tonn from the garage/hangar deck to the flight deck and vice versa. The same elevator can be used to move the helo from and to the garage/hangar deck.