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USS America (LHA-6)
Encyclopedia
USS America (LHA-6) will be the first of the America-class amphibious assault ship
Amphibious assault ship
An amphibious assault ship is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory by an amphibious assault...
s for the U.S. Navy, and she will be the fourth American warship to bear this name. The America-class will replace the last of the Tarawa-class
Tarawa class amphibious assault ship
The Tarawa class is a ship class of amphibious assault ships operated by the United States Navy . Five ships were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding between 1971 and 1980; another four ships were planned, but later cancelled...
amphibious assault ships. Based upon the USS Makin Island (LHD-8)
USS Makin Island (LHD-8)
USS Makin Island , a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, is the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Makin Island, target of the Marine Raiders' Makin Island raid early on in the United States' involvement in World War II....
design, America will be a gas-turbine powered warship capable of carrying elements of a Marine Expeditionary Unit
Marine Expeditionary Unit
A Marine expeditionary unit , formerly called Marine amphibious unit , is the smallest Marine air-ground task force in the United States Fleet Marine Force...
with the capacity for carrying many Marine helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s, V-22 Osprey
V-22 Osprey
The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, military, tiltrotor aircraft with both a vertical takeoff and landing , and short takeoff and landing capability...
tilt-rotor aircraft, and F-35B
F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fifth generation multirole fighters under development to perform ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions with stealth capability...
V/STOL F-35 Lightning II
F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fifth generation multirole fighters under development to perform ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions with stealth capability...
s. This warship is due to be delivered to the Navy in 2012. At a displacement of 45,000 tons, and carrying a complement of F-35 Lightning IIs, it will be able to serve in the role of a small aircraft carrier, as demonstrated by Landing Helicopter Dock operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The U.S. Navy awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation's Ingalls Shipyard Division a $2.4 billion fixed-price incentive contract for the detailed design and construction of the new amphibious assault ship, USS America (LHA-6). Work will be performed primarily at the company's shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, as a part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. The population was 26,200 at the 2000 census...
, and her delivery to the Navy is scheduled for 2012.
America will replace one of the aging Tarawa-class warships of amphibious assault ships. Like current LHAs and LHDs, an America-class ship will be able to operate as a flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
for an expeditionary strike group
Expeditionary Strike Group
The Expeditionary Strike Group, or ESG, is a concept introduced in the U.S. military in the early 1990s, based on the Naval Expeditionary Task Force. The U.S. Navy fields 12 Expeditionary Strike Groups and 11 Carrier Strike Groups, in addition to surface action groups...
or amphibious ready group
Amphibious Ready Group
An Amphibious Readiness Group of the United States Navy consists of a Navy element—a group of warships known as an amphibious task force —and a landing force of United States Marines , in total about 5,000 people. Together, these elements and supporting units are trained, organized, and equipped...
. Many warships of this type may also play a key role in the Maritime Pre-Positioning Force (Future).
Americas design modifications (as compared with the Wasp class
Wasp class amphibious assault ship
The Wasp class is a class of Landing Helicopter Dock amphibious assault ships operated by the United States Navy. Based on the Tarawa class, with modifications to operate more advanced aircraft and landing craft, the Wasp class is capable of transporting almost the full strength of a United States...
) optimize aviation operations and support activities. Removal of the well deck
Well deck
A well deck or well dock is a hangar-like deck located at the waterline in the stern of some amphibious warfare ships. By taking on water the ship can lower its stern, flooding the well deck and allowing boats and amphibious landing craft to dock within the ship. This facilitates moving cargo...
for landing craft provides for an extended hangar deck with two significantly-wider high bay areas, each fitted with an overhead crane for aircraft maintenance. Other enhancements include a reconfigurable command and control complex, an on-board hospital, additional aviation fuel capacity, and numerous aviation support spaces. These changes were required in order to operate the F-35B and MV-22 which are considerably larger than the aircraft they replace.
Current Under Secretary of the Navy
Under Secretary of the Navy
The Under Secretary of the Navy is the second-highest ranking civilian official in the United States Department of the Navy. The Under Secretary, called the "Under" in Pentagon slang, reports to the Secretary of the Navy ....
Robert O. Work
Robert O. Work
Robert Orton Work is the current United States Under Secretary of the Navy.-Biography:Work attended the University of Illinois and earned a B.S. in Biology. Work would later earn an M.S. in Systems Management from the University of Southern California; an M.S...
had previously questioned the utility of the well deck-less America, given the failure of the Landing Platform Helicopter concept when tested off Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
in the late 1970s
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
, however America will have over twice the mass of the old USS Iwo Jima
USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2)
USS Iwo Jima was the lead ship of her class and type—the first ship to be designed and built from the keel up as an amphibious assault ship. She carried helicopters and a detachment of embarked Marines for use in the Navy's "vertical envelopment" concept of amphibious operations...
(LPH-2).
Christopher P. Cavas writes that with the cancellation of the EFV and the delay and possible cancellation of the F-35B the Navy may have to reconsider building any more ships in this class.