LHA-6’s deck strengthened

The Gulf Coast-built amphibious ship USS America (LHA-6) headed back to sea March 21 after completing a 10-month maintenance period that included the strengthening of its landing deck to accommodate Marine short takeoff and vertical landing F-35B Joint Strike Fighters. The big deck “amphib,” commissioned in 2014, required additional work to take the day-to-day stress of operating STOVL F-35Bs. The ship is the first of two America-class amphibs built without a well deck for support of F-35s and tilt-rotor MV-22 Ospreys. Tripoli (LHA-7) is to undergo a similar but shorter maintenance period, but some of that deck-strengthening is already underway at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss. The unnamed LHA-8 will be built with a stronger deck and well deck to allow for the deployment of amphibious landing craft. The LHA-8 contract will be awarded to either Ingalls or General Dyanmics’ NASSCO yard in San Diego. One yard will build the amphib while the other gets six John Lewis-class (T-AO-205) fleet oilers. (Source: US Naval Institute News 03/22/16)