The amphibious assault ship America (LHA 6) has departed Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HII) division Ingalls Shipbuilding, sailing to the West Coast in preparation for her Oct. 11 commissioning in San Francisco, the Group said in a news release.
America is the first ship in the U.S. Navy's new class of amphibious assault ships. The ship is 844 feet long and 106 feet wide and displaces 44,971 long tons. Its fuel-efficient gas turbine propulsion system can drive the ship in excess of 20 knots. America was delivered to the U.S. Navy on April 10.
America can accommodate a crew of 1,204 (with 102 officers) and 1,871 troops. America is capable of carrying a Marine Expeditionary Unit, including Marine helicopters, MV‐22 Osprey VTOL tiltrotor aircraft and F‐35B Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) STOVL aircraft.
America is designed for survivability with increased aviation capacity, including 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. Similar to its predecessors, the ship will be able to operate as the flagship for an expeditionary strike group. Prior to America, Ingalls built five Tarawa-class (LHA 1) ships and eight Wasp-class (LHD 1) ships.
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) designs, builds and maintains nuclear and non-nuclear ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard and provides after-market services for military ships around the globe. For more than a century, HII has built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. Employing more than 37,000 in Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana and California, its primary business divisions are Newport News Shipbuilding and Ingalls Shipbuilding.
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