A CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter, assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 263 (Rein.), flies over the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD-24) on May 3, 2022. US Navy Photo
THE PENTAGON – A new study directed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense led to the halt in amphibious ship procurement so the Navy can evaluate requirements and cost efficiencies, a Navy official said Monday. Read More
Ingalls Shipbuilding lands the 700-ton deckhouse on the amphibious assault ship Tripoli (LHA 7) on July 9, 2016. Ingalls Shipbuilding photo.
THE PENTAGON – The Navy and industry could act quickly to ramp up amphibious warship production if the Congress and new administration support the Navy’s new call for 38 amphibs, the director of expeditionary warfare (OPNAV N95) told USNI News. Read More
An AV-8B Harrier, from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), takes off from the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) on Dec. 5, 2016. The 22nd MEU, embarked on Wasp, is conducting precision air strikes in support of the Libyan Government aligned forces against Islamic State targets in Sirte, Libya, as part of Operation Odyssey Lightning. US Navy photo.
The Wasp Amphibious Ready Group and 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit have returned home from a six-month deployment that included conducting airstrikes against the Islamic State in Libya and supporting maritime security operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. Read More
The amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) conducts flight operations while underway to Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2016. US Navy photo.
ABOARD USS AMERICA — The new amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6) has raised more than a few questions in its short life, with sailors and Marines alike wondering what it will mean to have an amphibious ship without a well deck and therefore without the ability to deploy landing craft to move heavy tanks and equipment ashore.
America’s recent participation in the Rim of the Pacific 2016 international exercise may have allayed some concerns – the resounding feedback from those involved in the ship’s operations is that, if the Marines are willing to tweak the composition of the deploying Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), America can move them faster, more agilely and more safely. Read More
MV-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft prepare to take off from the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), while in the background an landing craft air cushion (LCAC) approaches the amphibious transport dock ship USS Green Bay (LPD 20) in April 2015. US Navy photo.
The surface and expeditionary warfare community has adopted the aviation community’s “enterprise” approach to coordinating modernization and maintenance throughout the fleet, in an attempt to regain ship readiness that has declined since the 1990s, the director of expeditionary warfare (OPNAV N95) said last week. Read More
Officials survey the damage of USS Tripoli while the ship was in drydock in Bahrain following a mine attack. US Navy Photo
In the early morning of Feb. 18, 1991, the U.S. amphibious warship USS Tripoli (LPH-10) struck an Iraqi contact mine in the northern Persian Gulf, ripping a 25-foot by 23-foot hole in her starboard side below the waterline. Read More
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PACIFIC OCEAN (April 27,2015) U.S. Air Force F-16s fly over the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) during a training exercise on April 27, 2015. US Navy Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The capacity the planned LX(R) amphibious warship will bring to the Navy and Marine Corps Amphibious Ready Groups (ARG) will be key to operating the first two aviation-centric America-class big deck amphibs, the Marines’ aviation head said this week. Read More
An artist’s rendering of Huntington Ingalls Industries’ LPD Flight IIA variant of the San Antonio-class ship design. HII Image
NORFOLK, VA — Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has revised its plan to use the hull form of the San Antonio-class amphibious warship (LPD-17) as a candidate for the Navy’s next generation amphibious warship— LX(R), company officials outlined to USNI News on Tuesday. Read More
USS Mesa Verde (LPD-19) arrives at Naval Station Norfolk on Oct. 31, 2014 as part of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group following a deployment. US Navy Photo
NORFOLK, VA — Early design work on the Navy’s next generation amphibious warship — based on the San Antonio-class (LPD-17) hull — has begun ahead of a planned 2020 procurement, Navy officials said on Wednesday. Read More
USS Arlington (LPD-24) under construction at Ingalls Shipbuilding. Huntington Ingalls Industries Photo
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus has signed an internal memo recommending the service base its next generation amphibious warship (LX(R)) on the existing San Antonio-class (LPD-17) warship design, first reported by the Inside the Navy newsletter on Monday. Read More
