HII pushes back delivery of LHA-7

The Navy will not commission its second America-class amphibious assault ship Tripoli (LHA-7) in the fall as planned, according to shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) CEO Mike Petters. HII has pushed delivery to the end of 2019 or into 2020 while they work through technical design issues with the ship’s systems. Petters made the announcement following an Aug. 1 conference call to discuss second-quarter financial results. “The systems are working today. It’s just a question of whether they will work for the life of the ship,” Petters said. HII is “working and discussing” the issues with the Navy, but Petters declined to provide USNI News more details about those issues. Tripoli completed builder’s trials July 19 after spending four days underway in the Gulf of Mexico. Following those trials, the Navy suggested work on the big-deck amphibious warship was progressing without significant issues. Tripoli is to be the first large-deck “amphib” to reach the fleet fully ready to integrate a Marine Corps air combat element that includes F-35B Joint Strike Fighters. Tripoli, like USS America (LHA-6), is built without a well deck. Instead, the two ships have enlarged hangars, expanded aviation maintenance facilities, increased spare parts and equipment storage, and increased aviation fuel storage, according to the Navy. Petters anticipates HII completing work on Tripoli and conducting acceptance trials by the end of 2019. He was not ready to set a delivery date. (Source: USNI News 08/01/19)