America-class amphibious assault ship

File:USS America (LHA 6) off the coast of San Diego.JPG on 9 November 2013]]

America is based on the design of {{USS|Makin Island|LHD-8|6}}, herself an improved version of the {{sclass|Wasp|amphibious assault ship}}s with gas turbine power. About 45 percent of the "Flight 0" design of this class is based on that of Makin Island, but with its well deck omitted to allow more room for aircraft, spare parts, weapons and fuel.{{citation |url=http://www.gao.gov/htext/d09326sp.html |title=GAO-09-326SP 'Defense Acquisitions: Assessments of Selected Weapon Programs' |publisher=U.S. Government Accountability Office |date=30 March 2009 |access-date=19 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090830120009/http://www.gao.gov/htext/d09326sp.html |archive-date=30 August 2009 |url-status=live }} The gas turbines of Makin Island, America, and their successors use JP-5 fuel{{Citation needed|reason=other USN gas turbine vessels burn F-76, JP-5 is an emergency alternative|date=December 2016}} which is the same fuel used by their helicopters, the jet engines of their AV-8B Harrier and MV-22 Osprey aircraft and, in new ships, the gas turbines of the Landing Craft Air Cushions (LCACs) that they could carry in their well decks, greatly simplifying the storage, distribution, and use of fuel.

The typical aircraft complement for the first two vessels is expected to be twelve MV-22B Osprey transports, six F-35B Lightning II STOVL multi-role jet aircraft, four CH-53K heavy transport helicopters, seven AH-1Z/UH-1Y attack/utility helicopters, and two Navy MH-60S Knighthawks for air-sea rescue.{{cite web |url=http://www.dote.osd.mil/pub/reports/FY2008/pdf/navy/2008lha6.pdf |page=149 |title=LHA 6 (formerly LHA(R)) New Amphibious Assault Ship |work=FY2008 Annual Report for the Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation |publisher=DOT&E |year=2008|access-date=19 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030254/http://www.dote.osd.mil/pub/reports/FY2008/pdf/navy/2008lha6.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }} The exact make-up of the ship's aircraft complements may vary according to their missions. They can carry about 20 AV-8Bs or F-35Bs, and 2 MH-60Ss, to serve as a small aircraft carrier as demonstrated by landing helicopter dock (LHD) operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom.{{cite web|title=Keel Laid for Latest Addition to Multimission-Capable Amphibious Fleet|publisher=United States Navy|date=18 July 2009|url=http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=47036|access-date=20 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090808160415/http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=47036|archive-date=8 August 2009|url-status=dead}}

The U.S. Marine Corps is now more concerned about anti-ship missile attacks from fast attack craft and long-range precision fires from land. To counter such attacks the Marine Corps wants to keep amphibious ships farther offshore. For this Marines will be transported ashore in larger and longer range MV-22 V/STOL aircraft. To accommodate these requirements, America has twice the displacement of the retired {{sclass|Iwo Jima|amphibious assault ship|1}}s.

The America-class amphibious assault ships are engineered with a (CODLOG) hybrid-electric propulsion system derived from the one used on Makin Island. The ships can use gas-turbines for high speeds and the diesel-electric engines when required.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20130810011528/http://defensetech.org/2013/08/06/navy-to-test-hybrid-propulsion-on-destroyers/ Navy to Test Hybrid-Propulsion on Destroyers]}} - Defensetech.org, 6 August 2013 Setting the beam of America at {{convert|106|ft}} was dictated by the need for these ships to pass through the Panama Canal. The Congressional Budget Office found that if before 2040 the price of oil reached and remained above $140 per barrel then the use of nuclear propulsion for LHX-class ships would be more cost-effective.[http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12169 "The Cost-Effectiveness of Nuclear Power for Navy Surface Ships"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525023437/http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12169 |date=25 May 2011 }}. CBO, May 2011.

File:USMC F-35Bs, USS America, Oct. 8, 2019.jpg aboard USS America on 8 October 2019]]

{{anchor|LH(X)}}

The LHX or LH(X) was a warship that was proposed in the late 1990s to replace the {{sclass|Tarawa|amphibious assault ship|1}}s, but with a dry deck for hovercraft rather than a floodable "well deck". After 2000, the LHX, the "Amphibious Assault Ship Future Replacement", was put forward to replace all of the LHDs.{{cite web |url=http://www.quantico.usmc.mil/seabasing/resources/QuadCharts/Amphibious%20Assault%20Ship_Future%20Replacement_LH(X).ppt |title=Systematic approach to an enduring requirement |format=PPT |publisher=US Marines Corps |date=26 August 2008 |access-date=19 January 2012 }}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} The new LHX could be a Flight 2 design of the America class built with a well deck and a smaller island superstructure, which would give it 20 percent more capacity on the flight deck. This would remove the current restriction on MV-22s to land on spots 5 and 6, and also giving room for four MV-22B, three F-35B Lightning IIs, or three CH-53Ks to use the flight deck. In 2008, the procurement of Flight 2 ships was tentatively planned for 2024, but that might not be practical or affordable by then.

A modified version of the design of America, designated the MPF(F), LHA(R), or T-LHA(R), was proposed for two ships of the Maritime Prepositioning Force (Future).{{cite web |url=http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/T?&report=sr077&dbname=110& |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121214034136/http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/T?&report=sr077&dbname=110& |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 December 2012 |title=National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 |date=5 June 2007 |publisher=Library of Congress }} The MPF(F) is the Navy's concept for a "sea base" to support operations ashore starting in about 2025.{{cite web |url=http://armed-services.senate.gov/statemnt/2011/05%20May/Stackley-McCoy-Galinis%2005-25-11.pdf|last=Stackley |first=Sean J. |title=Statement before the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces of the House Armed Forces Committee on Navy Shipbuilding |date=25 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916101417/http://www.armed-services.senate.gov/statemnt/2011/05%20May/Stackley-McCoy-Galinis%2005-25-11.pdf |archive-date=16 September 2012}} These two ships would hypothetically be crewed by civilians from the Military Sealift Command and not armed with weapons. Funding for the MPF(F) and the LHA(R) was tabled by the Senate Armed Services Committee in the fiscal year 2008 budget. The U.S. Navy now intends to buy more ships of the America class for its fleet of amphibious warfare ships.

In January 2014, the U.S. Navy began taking measures on America in order to reduce damage from excessive heat given off by the F-35B and MV-22 to prolong the life of the flight deck. The F-35B engine gives off much more heat than the previous AV-8B Harrier STOVL fighter and the MV-22 Osprey's heat exhaust has been known to damage flight decks. Plans include 14 different modifications to the ship and limiting the number of flight operations that are conducted off the deck. The U.S. Navy is looking for cost-effective solutions that will not affect the combat effectiveness of America. Restricting the number of flight operations is not expected to decrease its usefulness as amphibious assault ships are made to support quick assaults, while full-sized aircraft carriers have the mission of conducting sustained air operations. Lessons learned from these measures will be applied to {{USS|Tripoli|LHA-7|2}} and {{USS|Bougainville|LHA-8|2}} under construction, which will allow them to perform "complete unrestricted operations."[http://news.usni.org/2014/01/15/sna-2014-heat-f-35-mv-22-continue-plague-big-deck-amphibs SNA 2014: Heat From F-35, MV-22 Continue to Plague Big Deck Amphibs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140126044919/http://news.usni.org/2014/01/15/sna-2014-heat-f-35-mv-22-continue-plague-big-deck-amphibs |date=26 January 2014 }} - News.USNI.org, 15 January 2014 Minor modifications to America are as small as putting covers over life rafts and refueling stations and moving antennas.[http://www.dodbuzz.com/2014/01/18/navy-bringing-well-decks-back-to-amphibs/ Navy Bringing Well Decks Back to Amphibs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140123204955/http://www.dodbuzz.com/2014/01/18/navy-bringing-well-decks-back-to-amphibs/ |date=23 January 2014 }} - DoDBuzz.com, 18 January 2014

File:USS Tripoli (LHA-7) underway in the Gulf of Mexico on 15 July 2019 (190715-O-N0101-115).JPG

Further warships in this class will have a well deck for amphibious warfare{{cite web |last=Stackley |first=Sean J. |url=http://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=20d0a26b-288e-4f26-b483-77af93eeafa8 |title=Statement before the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces of the House Armed Forces Committee on Amphibious Operations |date=16 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415013911/http://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=20d0a26b-288e-4f26-b483-77af93eeafa8 |archive-date=15 April 2012}} in their sterns to contain landing craft, such as the LCAC, as in Tarawa-class LHAs and Wasp-class amphibious assault ships.

The addition of a well deck will leave less space for aircraft on board the ships, but the "Early Operational Assessment" of 2005 criticized the "Flight 0" design because the expanded aviation facilities gave no space for a well deck. Also, USS America has reduced stowage space for military vehicles, and the size of its hospital was reduced by two-thirds with respect to the Wasp-class ships.

Before he became the Under Secretary of the Navy, Robert O. Work also brought into question the usefulness of an amphibious warfare ship without a well deck. The concept of the landing platform helicopter (LPH) had failed when their helicopters met enemy anti-aircraft systems off the coast of Lebanon during the late 1970s. In that case, Marines first had to be moved onto ships that had well decks.{{cite news|title=Marines Question the Utility of Their New Amphibious Warship |date=September 2008 |first=Grace V. |last=Jean |url=http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2008/September/Pages/MarinesQuestiontheUtilityof.aspx |newspaper=National Defense Magazine |publisher=National Defense Industrial Association |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206002321/http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/ARCHIVE/2008/SEPTEMBER/Pages/MarinesQuestiontheUtilityof.aspx |archive-date=6 December 2010}}

The third ship of the class (USS Bougainville) will be the first in its class with a well deck for deploying amphibious vehicles. While there was emphasis on lighter ground vehicles in the late 1990s, up-armored and heavier vehicles were used during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Future counterinsurgency operations require ships that can carry and deliver those vehicles, including through use of shore connectors; cargo lift requirements are met more expensively by aircraft airlifting equipment. Adding the well deck will require the ship's island to be slightly smaller compared to its two predecessors. Early design work with funds will begin in 2015, detailed design work and construction will start in 2017, and the LHA-8 will enter service in 2024.

File:USS America (LHA-6) performs flight operations while underway to RIMPAC 2016 (7).jpg

The program started in July 2001, with development beginning in October 2005, the production decision was made in January 2006, and construction of LHA-6 began in December 2008.

Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding was awarded $48.1M for "additional planning and advanced engineering services in support of the LHA replacement (LHA[R]) Flight 0 amphibious assault ship (LHA-7)" on 28 October 2010, to run until May 2012.{{cite web | publisher=Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs), U.S. Department of Defense | url=http://www.defense.gov/contracts/contract.aspx?contractid=4397 | title=Contract | date=28 October 2010 | access-date=19 January 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110530033407/http://www.defense.gov/contracts/contract.aspx?contractid=4397 | archive-date=30 May 2011 | url-status=dead }} It was scheduled for delivery in 2017. In January 2011, development problems led to the F-35B program being delayed two years, and plans for LHA-7 could change if the F-35B were to be canceled.{{cite web | last=Cavas | first=Christopher P. |url=http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/01/navy-marine-cuts-affect-fleet-010811 | title=Fleet will feel effects of major Corps cuts | work=Navy Times| date=8 January 2011}}

In April 2012, Contract N00024-10-C-2229 was issued to Huntington Ingalls Industries, in which funding for steel plate purchases for LHA-7 was planned, and announced the requirement for an additional four ships (to LHA-10).{{cite web|title=LHA Amphibious Assault Ships|url=http://ingalls.huntingtoningalls.com/our-products/lha/|website=Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc|access-date=16 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916095710/http://ingalls.huntingtoningalls.com/our-products/lha/|archive-date=16 September 2017|url-status=live}}

On 4 May 2012, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced the selection of USS Tripoli as the name for the Navy's next large-deck amphibious assault ship (LHA-7).{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=81793 |title=Future Multipurpose Amphibious Assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) Keel Authenticated |date=23 June 2014 |website=America's Navy |publisher=U.S. Navy |access-date=16 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916095929/http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=81793 |archive-date=16 September 2017 |url-status=dead }} On 20 June 2014, Ingalls Shipyards, authenticated Tripoli{{'}}s keel in ceremony by the ship's sponsor, Lynne Mabus, wife of Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus.{{cite web|title=Media Advisory - Navy Secretary Mabus, Mississippi Gov. Bryant to Speak at Keel Authentication of Tripoli (LHA 7) |url=http://newsroom.huntingtoningalls.com/News-Releases/Media-Advisory-Navy-Secretary-Mabus-Mississippi-Gov-Bryant-to-Speak-at-Keel-Authentication-of-Tr-3de.aspx |website=Huntington Ingalls Industries|format=News Release|date=18 June 2014|access-date=18 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140623010957/http://newsroom.huntingtoningalls.com/News-Releases/Media-Advisory-Navy-Secretary-Mabus-Mississippi-Gov-Bryant-to-Speak-at-Keel-Authentication-of-Tr-3de.aspx|archive-date=23 June 2014|url-status=live}} Tripoli was officially delivered to the U.S. Navy on 28 February 2020.{{cite press release |url=https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=112234 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520224533/https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=112234 |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 May 2020 |title=Navy Accepts Delivery of Future USS Tripoli |publisher=United States Navy |id=NNS200228-09 |date=28 February 2020 |access-date=28 February 2020}}

On 13 June 2014, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it had awarded a contract worth for $23.5 million to General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, California for design and development work on LHA-8.[http://www.defense.gov/Contracts/Contract.aspx?ContractID=5307 Defense.gov Contract Announcements include General Dynamic's award for LHA-8's development research for Flight I version of LHA-8.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704051151/http://www.defense.gov/Contracts/Contract.aspx?ContractID=5307 |date=4 July 2014}}

On 14 December 2021, a $70.8 million U.S. Navy contract was awarded to Huntington Ingalls as its latest installment toward acquiring long-lead-time materials for LHA-9. The award was offered by the Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C.{{cite web|url= https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/wicker-hyde-smith-welcome-708-million-contract-miss-built-amphibious-warship |title= WICKER, HYDE-SMITH WELCOME $70.8 MILLION CONTRACT FOR MISS. BUILT AMPHIBIOUS WARSHIP |date=14 December 2021 |access-date=22 January 2022}} {{PD-notice}}

On 27 October 2022, the U.S. Navy awarded Ingalls Shipbuilding a $2.4 billion contract modification for detail, design, and construction of LHA-9.{{cite web |last1=Shelbourne |first1=Mallory |title=Navy Awards Ingalls Shipbuilding $2.4B to Start LHA-9 |url=https://news.usni.org/2022/10/28/navy-awards-ingalls-shipbuilding-2-4b-to-start-lha-9 |website=USNI News |date=28 October 2022 |access-date=3 November 2022}} The ship's name was announced as {{USS|Fallujah||6}} on 13 December 2022.{{cite press release |url=https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/Press-Releases/display-pressreleases/Article/3244855/secnav-names-future-america-class-amphibious-assault-ship-fallujah/ |title=SECNAV Names Future America-class Amphibious Assault Ship Fallujah |publisher=United States Navy |date=13 December 2022 |access-date=23 November 2023}}

LHA-10 was authorized by the U.S. Congress in 2023, providing $US1.38 billion for her procurement.{{Cite web |last=Lagrone |first=Sam |date=28 July 2022 |title=Senate FY 2023 Appropriations Bill Adds $4B to Navy Shipbuilding, Money for New Amphibs |url=https://news.usni.org/2022/07/28/senate-fy-2023-appropriations-bill-adds-4b-to-navy-shipbuilding-money-for-new-amphibs#more-96202 |website=United States Naval Institute News}} The ship was named by Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro on 2 May 2024, USS Helmand Province.{{Cite web |last=Lagrone |first=Sam |date=2 May 2024 |title=SECNAV Del Toro Names Next Big Deck Amphib USS Helmand Province |url=https://news.usni.org/2024/05/02/secnav-del-toro-names-next-big-deck-amphib-uss-helmand-province |website=United States Naval Institute}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|America-class amphibious assault ships}}

• [https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Fact-Files/Display-FactFiles/Article/2169814/amphibious-assault-ships-lhdlhar/ US Navy LHD/LHA(R) page]
• [http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/americaclassamphibio/ America Class project on Naval Technology site]
• [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/lha-6.htm LHA-6 America page] and [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/lhx.htm LHX/LHA(R) page on Globalsecurity.org]

{{America-class amphibious assault ship}}

{{Active ship classes of the United States Navy}}

Category:Amphibious warfare vessel classes

Category:Naval ships of the United States