on 9 November 2013
America is based on the design of , herself an improved version of the 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. The gas turbines of
Makin Island,
America, and their successors use
JP-5 fuel, 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. 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, 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 s. Setting the
beam of
America at 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. aboard USS
America on 8 October 2019 The LHX or LH(X) was a warship that was proposed in the late 1990s to replace the 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. 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. The MPF(F) is the Navy's concept for a "sea base" to support operations ashore starting in about 2025. These two ships would hypothetically be crewed by civilians from the
Military Sealift Command and not armed with weapons. Minor modifications to
America are as small as putting covers over life rafts and refueling stations and moving antennas.
Well deck Further
warships in this class will have a well deck for amphibious warfare 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. 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 began in 2015, detailed design work and construction started in 2017, and the LHA-8 will enter service in 2026, delayed from the original schedule of October 2024. ==History==