Large Amphibious Assault Vessels

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
Hi guys.. I thought I'd post these photos here. I don't have the hi-res links because I found these photos on dvids and it is too time consuming for me to get a Hi-res link.

Anyway the photos below show F-35Bs operating from USS America (LHA 6) which in reality is a "pocket" aircraft carrier for the US Marines.

I think USS America (LHA 6) should be deployed to Sasebo Japan instead of USS Wasp(LHD 1). Why? because America is configured to operate 20 F-35Bs plus Ospreys. Also to replace the well deck of USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) which is transfering to San Diego I'd send an extra San Antonio class LPD. Just my opinion.

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Nice and interesting we see and have now or very soon a flight of F-35B aboard, 2 configurations :
America
Amph Assault : 6 F-35B + 25 helos 1700 troops, 3000 t fuel av
" little CV " max 20 F-35 + 2 helos , " "

Wasp class
" little CV " 20 AV-8B + 6 helos , 1900 trops, 1200 t fuel Av
Amph Assault : 6 + 24, " "

AV-8B more small and Take considerably less space but F-35B much more capable, stealth, range, radars weapons load when the true ops Block get ready the 3F no match.

I don' t have ammos qty but a Nimitz carry 3000 t and 9000 t fuel so i think minimum 500 t for America close Charles De Gaulle 600 t do same size thinking 300 t for a Wasp, if you have more o_O
 

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
Hi guys.. I thought I'd post these photos here. I don't have the hi-res links because I found these photos on dvids and it is too time consuming for me to get a Hi-res link.

Anyway the photos below show F-35Bs operating from USS America (LHA 6) which in reality is a "pocket" aircraft carrier for the US Marines.

I think USS America (LHA 6) should be deployed to Sasebo Japan instead of USS Wasp(LHD 1). Why? because America is configured to operate 20 F-35Bs plus Ospreys. Also to replace the well deck of USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) which is transfering to San Diego I'd send an extra San Antonio class LPD. Just my opinion.
I see 12 x F-35Bs on deck here:

America-12xF35b-01.jpg
 

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
In addition to the Ford and its trials, the US Navy also launched (in April) the USS Tripoli, LHA-7. This is the second America class and sister ship to the America, LHA-6, which has already been delivered.

Air centric. Now well deck. It can do air assault very nicely with helos and Opsreys, but has also been designed to be a Sea Control, or pure CAS carrier with up to 20 F-35Bs stationed on deck to do that role.

Nice looking. The Ford grabbed the headlines and the lime light...but you can bet other nations see that the US is building up its own carrier capability fairly quickly. One of these with 20 F-35Bs and some sort of AEW capability, would be the match for almost any other carrier available.

USS_Tripoli_Launched_following_Translation.jpg
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
Special Analysis: Navy Maps the Future of Amphibious Warfare
As a new Amphibious Transport Dock completes Builders Trials and moves closer to operational service in 2018, the Navy and Marine Corps continue to adapt planning,
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    - Dec 15, 2:07 PM
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As a new Amphibious Transport Dock completes Builders Trials and moves closer to operational service in 2018, the Navy and Marine Corps continue to adapt planning, technological focus and concepts of operation for amphibious combat and Amphibious Ready Groups in the future.

By Kris Osborn

The USS Portland (LPD 27) has completed a series of at-sea tests including full power runs, self-defense detect-to-engage exercises, evaluations of key combat and communications systems, rapid ballast/de-ballast operations, steering checks, and anchor handling demonstrations.

The USS Portland is part of a broader Navy and Marine Corps strategy to adjusts amphibs for the future. The Navy is building a new, multi-mission amphibious assault ship designed to function in a modern threat environment, conduct a wider range of missions than the ship it is replacing, and help the service increase the lagging number of amphibs in the force, senior officials said.

While LPD 27 is the eleventh LPD 17 San Antonio Amphibious Transport Dock to join the fleet, the service seeks to multiply capability by engineering a new ship called the LX(R) - loosely based on an LPD 17 hull - with expanded technologies.

The Navy plans to build at least 11 new LX(R) ships, with the first one slated to deliver by 2026, service developers said.

In September of last year,
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secured a $19.1 million contract modification to accelerate design work on the US Navy‘s LX(R) amphibious ship replacement program.

The Navy hopes to add much greater numbers of amphibious assault ships to the fleet while simultaneously adjusting to a modern threat landscape which will require more dis-aggregated operations - and require single Amphibious Ready Groups (ARG) to perform a much wider range of missions. Modern near peer adversaries increasingly posses long range sensors and precision-guided munitions, a phenomenon which will require much more operational diversity from ARGs.

New Navy LXR - Future Amphib Strategy

The Navy plans new LX(R) amphibs to replace its current fleet of Dock Landing Ships, or LSD 41s, which have functioned for years as a support ship in an ARG. This strategic move to replace Dock Landing Ships with an LPD 17-like hull seems to speak to a Navy effort to expand amphibious capability to adjust to new threats and help compensate for a continued Navy amphibious assault ship deficit.

The Navy used to be able to deploy up to five ARGs at one time, however the fleet is no longer the size it used to be in the 1980s and the service is working on a strategy to get by with fewer ARGs and as fewer amphibs overall. As a result, the Navy needs more ships that have the technological ability to operate independently of an ARG if need be.

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The modern threat environment contains a wider range of contingencies to include counterterrorism operations, counter-piracy, humanitarian missions, disaster response and, of course, full-scale amphibious combat operations against near-peer adversaries. This requires that the three ships in an ARG have an ability to disperse when necessary and operate independently. The Navy and Marine Corps increasingly explains that modern missions require more split or dis-aggregated operations.

A lead Amphibious Assault Ship, a Dock Landing Ship, or LSD, and the San Antonio-class LPD 17 amphibious transport dock are both integral to an Amphibious Ready Group, which typically draws upon a handful of platforms to ensure expeditionary warfighting technology. The ARG is tasked with transporting at least 2,200 Marines and their equipment, including what’s called a Marine Expeditionary Unit, or MEU.

The 684-foot long LPD 17s can hit speeds of 22 knots and carry four CH-46 Sea Knights or two MV-22 Osprey aircraft. The LSD, or Dock Landing Ship, also travels around 20 knots however it is only 609-feet long and not equipped to house aircraft.

Both the LPD 17 and the LSDs have well-decks for amphibious operations along with the ability to launch Landing Craft Air Cushions, or LCACs. However, the LPD17 weighs close to 25,000 tons and the LSD is only 16,000 tons.

The 1980’s-era LSD dock landing ships consist of eight Whidbey Island-class 609-foot long ships. The 15,000-ton ships, configured largely to house and transport four LCACs, are nearing the end of their service life.

While the mission of the existing Dock Landing Ship (LSD) is primarily, among other things, to support an ability to launch Landing Craft Air Cushions, or LCACs, for amphibious operations, the new LX(R) ship will have an expanded mission to include more independent missions. LCACs are ship to shore connector vehicles able to transport Marines and equipment from ship-to-shore beyond the horizon. LCACs can even carry M1 Abrams tanks over the ocean.

An Amphibious Transport Dock, or LPD, is designed to operate with greater autonomy from an ARG and potentially conduct independent operations as needed. An LSD is able to operate four LCACs and the more autonomous LPD 17 can launch two LCACs.

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Developers explain that the LX(R) ship will have a much wider mission set than the fleet of LSD ships it is replacing.

As a result of this wider mission requirement for the LX(R), the ship is being engineered with greater aviation and command and control technologies that the LSD 41 ships it is replacing.

Additional command and control capabilities, such as communications technologies, will allow the ship to reach back to the joint force headquarters they are working for, stay in with the parent ship and control the landing force, Navy and Marine Corps developers added.

Having more amphibs engineered and constructed for independent operations is seen as a strategic advantage in light of the Pacific rebalance and the geographical expanse of the region. The widely dispersed territories in the region may require a greater degree of independent amphibious operations where single amphibs operate separately from a larger ARG.

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Corps officials explain that the greater use of amphibious assault ships is likely as the Marine Corps continues to shift toward more sea-based operations from its land-based focus during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At the same time, Navy and Marine Corps leaders are quick to acknowledge that there is a massive shortfall of Amphibious Assault Ships across the two services. In recent years, senior service leaders have said that if each requirement or request for amphibs from Combatant Commanders worldwide were met, the Navy would need 50 amphibs.

The Navy currently operates only roughly 30 amphibs and plans to reach 38 by the late 2020s.
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TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
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USS Bougainville LHA 8 and the Changes being made to the America Class. Where the America and Tripoli focus more on Aviation the Bougainville will more evenly split the difference with a well deck, smaller island with Enterprise Radar system, Extended flattop, re positioned defenses to the island and other changes.
 
D

Deleted member 13312

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No surprise that the America and Tripoli being put into that role seeing that it has no well deck. But the designers are daft enough to not at least give it a ski jump ramp for the F-35Bs it is supposed to be carrying.
Well I suppose if you are insistent on having a gimped carrier, you might as well be cutting all the corners you can.
That's the problem with the Marines, a fascination for air support regardless of its feasibility and reasonableness.
 
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TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
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No surprise that the America and Tripoli being put into that role seeing that it has no well deck.
They intentionally designed it that way to favor aviation. as time has gone by the Aviation arm of the Marines have become more important. Flight ops are more common than Amphibious assaults. Besides The US has a substantial number of other ships with well decks, Including the Wasp class LHDs (from which the America class evolved), San Antonio class LPDs and LPD Flight IIa (LSD types).
But the designers are daft enough to not at least give it a ski jump ramp for the F-35Bs it is supposed to be carrying.
Well I suppose if you are insistent on having a gimped carrier, you might as well be cutting all the corners you can.
That's the problem with the Marines, a fascination for air support regardless of its feasibility and reasonableness.
The Majority of operations off the LHA6/7 are rotary wing Helicopters and Tiltrotors for them a Ramp is less critical. it might be nice but there is really only one bird on that deck that could use it. UH1, AH1, V22,CH53 and CH53K don't need the ramp.
 
D

Deleted member 13312

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They intentionally designed it that way to favor aviation. as time has gone by the Aviation arm of the Marines have become more important. Flight ops are more common than Amphibious assaults. Besides The US has a substantial number of other ships with well decks, Including the Wasp class LHDs (from which the America class evolved), San Antonio class LPDs and LPD Flight IIa (LSD types).

The Majority of operations off the LHA6/7 are rotary wing Helicopters and Tiltrotors for them a Ramp is less critical. it might be nice but there is really only one bird on that deck that could use it. UH1, AH1, V22,CH53 and CH53K don't need the ramp.
Having just only 1 out of the 2 issue present ( welldeck or ski ramp) may not have been so egregious, but it is the combination of the 2 that really made it hit the fan. The Wasp are due to be replaced in due time (which is what the America class is designed for), while the San Antonio don't have the carrying capacity of the America pound for buck so to to speak.
Don't get me wrong, aviation is important. But to delete an equally important fundamental component from the ship is really taking a gamble of the dice in terms of flexibility . Rotor wing craft can be operated just as easily from the other ships (Wasp and San Antonio) but not LCAC units.
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
The Wasp are due to be replaced in due time (which is what the America class is designed for)
No America class Replaced the Tarawa class. All Wasp class are in service the First of the Wasp class shouldn't be leaving service for another 10 years, assuming that they have the same 37 year service life as the Tarawa.
The USN rotates back and forth between LHA and LHD and Wasp was spun off of Tarawa much like how America was spun off the last of the Wasp the Markin Island. it's likely that this will repeat again with a Wasp replacement favoring the Amphibious role.
farther more the LHA 8 in it's configuration will carry 2 LCAC, this is the same number as a San Antonio class. the Wasps carry 3 LCACs which is not that bit a jump. As to off loading Aviation again what the 2 Americas offer is more than what a Wasp or San Antonio class can. a San Antonio can carry 4 V22 an America class can be loaded down with 22 if the mission needed.
Now the USN only built 2 of them and that was by design. not with the Bougainville they are returning to a more conventional LHA, I would even argue reasonable to call it Bougainville class, with about5-6 or so come off the line with LHA 11 or12 being the basis for a LHD 9 with a larger well deck to replace the Wasps.
 
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