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The U.S. Navy officially accepted delivery of the amphibious assault ship America (LHA 6) from Huntington Ingalls Industries during a ship custody transfer ceremony in Pascagoula, Miss., April 10. More than 900 Sailors and Marines assigned to Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) America marched to the ship to take custody on the flight deck.

America is the first ship of its class, replacing the Tarawa-class of amphibious assault ships. As the next generation "big-deck" amphibious ship, America will be optimized for aviation and capable of supporting current and future aircraft, such as the tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey and the Joint Strike Fighter.

The ship will provide flexible, multi-mission capabilities spanning from forward-deployed crisis response to maritime security operations.

America is 844 feet long, 106 feet wide and hosts a displacement of 44,971 long tons. Her propulsion system will drive it to speeds in excess of 22 knots, and she will accommodate a crew size of more than 1,100 Sailors and nearly 1,900 embarked Marines.

With the ship custody transfer complete, the crew is now working and living aboard the ship. After a rigorous evaluation and certification cycle, the ship will depart Mississippi and transit around South America to her future homeport of San Diego. America is scheduled to be commissioned late 2014 in San Francisco.

The keel for the next-generation amphibious warship Tripoli (LHA-7) was laid in a ceremony at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss. on Friday.
The ceremony marked the official start of construction for the second America-class landing helicopter dock for the U.S., following the $3 billion first-in-class America (LHA-6) — which plans to commission later this year.

“Like America, Tripoli boasts a very credible and capable aviation centric design that replaces the Tarawa class of amphibious assault ships,” Capt. Christopher Mercer, Amphibious Warfare Program Manager within Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships said in a Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) statement.
“The design brings with it increased capabilities and will maximize the Navy’s investment in future aircraft.”

Each of the 45,000-ton ships in the class are optimized for modern Marine aircraft like the MV-22 tilt-rotor Osprey and the short takeoff-vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

However, America and Tripoli were designed without a well deck — which allows a ship to take on and disembark amphibious landing craft — much to the protest of the Marine Corps.

LHA-8 will be redesigned to incorporate a well deck into the design.

The amphibious assault ship America (LHA 6) returned to Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division Friday following successful acceptance sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico. Ingalls’ test and trials team successfully demonstrated more than 220 test events to the U.S. Navy’s board of inspection and survey (INSURV).

During acceptance trials, America performed all required sea trial evolutions, including the operation of the hybrid gas turbine/electric-drive propulsion system. Other tests included anchor handling, steering demonstration, flight deck operations, and combat systems’ evaluations.

When America enters the fleet, she will be the flagship of an Expeditionary Strike Group, strategically positioning Marine Expeditionary Units ashore across a full spectrum of missions, including humanitarian, disaster relief, maritime security, antipiracy and other operations while providing air support for ground forces.

America-class ships are 844 feet long and 106 feet wide and displace 44,971 long tons. The gas-turbine propulsion system will drive the ships in excess of 20 knots. They will accommodate a crew of 1,059 (65 officers) and 1,687 troops. The America-class will be capable of carrying a Marine Expeditionary Unit, including Marine helicopters, MV‐22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft and F‐35B Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.

The newest class has an increased aviation capacity to include an enlarged hangar deck, realignment and expansion of the aviation maintenance facilities, a significant increase in available stowage for parts and support equipment, and increased aviation fuel capacity.