Saturday will mark the formal commissioning of the Navy's newest amphibious assault ship, the USS America-- a big-deck amphib designed to more fully leverage the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter and the ability to air-drop Marines behind enemy lines.
Unlike previous Wasp-class amphibious assault ships, the America will not have a well-deck to launch connector vehicles that transport Marines and equipment from ship to shore over water. Instead, the America is specifically engineered for aviation. Compared with prior amphibs, the America has a larger deck space and hangar area for aircraft.
| Oh, so it's an aircraft carrier that also carries Marines... |
"We are changing the way we look at amphibious warfare. During D-Day you had amphibious assault vehicles go ashore with an assault on the beach. Now, we are looking more at Marine Corps aviation and how can we use those Corps assets we have on-board the ship to bring the fight inland. I think that this ship in particular gives us a tremendous capability to do that," said Lt. Dawn Stankus, a USS America spokeswoman.
In total, the America is configured to house up to 31 aircraft including as many as 12 MV-22 Ospreys and the CH-53 Super Stallion, AH-1Z Super Cobra, UH-1Y Huey, F-35 B Short-take-off-and-landing Joint Strike Fighter and MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter, Stankus explained. |