131109-N-ZZ999-330 PASCAGOULA, Miss. (Nov. 9, 2013) – Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) America (LHA 6) returns to Huntington Ingalls Shipyard Nov. 9 after completing Builder’s Sea Trials. During the trials, the ship’s main propulsion, communications, steering, navigational and radar systems were tested for the first time at sea. America will be 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, capable of supporting current and future aircraft such as the tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey and Joint Strike Fighter. The ship will provide flexible, multi-mission capabilities spanning from forward deployed crisis response to maritime security operations. The ship was christened on Oct. 20, 2012 and is currently undergoing construction in Pascagoula, Miss. (U.S. Navy photo by Senior Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Lawrence Grove/Released)131109-N-ZZ999-330 PASCAGOULA, Miss. (Nov. 9, 2013) – Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) America (LHA 6) returns to Huntington Ingalls Shipyard Nov. 9 after completing Builder’s Sea Trials. During the trials, the ship’s main propulsion, communications, steering, navigational and radar systems were tested for the first time at sea. America will be 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, capable of supporting current and future aircraft such as the tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey and Joint Strike Fighter. The ship will provide flexible, multi-mission capabilities spanning from forward deployed crisis response to maritime security operations. The ship was christened on Oct. 20, 2012 and is currently undergoing construction in Pascagoula, Miss. (U.S. Navy photo by Senior Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Lawrence Grove/Released)131109-N-ZZ999-330 PASCAGOULA, Miss. (Nov. 9, 2013) – Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) America (LHA 6) returns to Huntington Ingalls Shipyard Nov. 9 after completing Builder’s Sea Trials. During the trials, the ship’s main propulsion, communications, steering, navigational and radar systems were tested for the first time at sea. America will be 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, capable of supporting current and future aircraft such as the tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey and Joint Strike Fighter. The ship will provide flexible, multi-mission capabilities spanning from forward deployed crisis response to maritime security operations. The ship was christened on Oct. 20, 2012 and is currently undergoing construction in Pascagoula, Miss. (U.S. Navy photo by Senior Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Lawrence Grove/Released)
The ship’s design is based on USS Makin Island, but to allow more room for aviation facilities she does not have a well deck, and has smaller medical spaces. With a displacement of 45,000 tons, she is as large as many other countries’ aircraft carriers and can fulfill similar missions when configured with 20 F-35B strike fighters.
