U.S. Navy to christen new America class amphibious assault ship
The Navy will christen the amphibious assault ship, America (LHA 6), on Oct. 20, during a 10 a.m. CDT ceremony in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
“The Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James F. Amos will deliver the ceremony’s principal address”, according to thePentagon.
Mrs. Lynne Pace, wife of former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace, will serve as the ship’s sponsor.
USS America (LHA-6) will be the first of the America-class amphibious assault ships for the U.S. Navy. She will be delivered in 2013, replacing USS Peleliu (LHA-5) of the Tarawa class. Her mission is to act as the flagship of an expeditionary strike group or amphibious ready group, carrying part of a Marine expeditionary unit into battle and putting them ashore with helicopters and V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, supported by F-35B Lightning II aircraft and helicopter gunships.
“As the next generation “big-deck” amphibious ship, LHA 6 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 LHA 6 will use the same gas turbine propulsion plant, zonal electrical distribution system, and electric auxiliary system built for USS Makin Island (LHD 8). This unique auxiliary propulsion system is designed for fuel efficiency”, the Press release stated (source: Navy to Christen Amphibious Assault Ship America http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=15624).
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The ship was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries in Pascagoula, Mississippi, at a program cost of $8 billion and a per unit cost of $3.4 billion dollars.
Information on amphibious assault ships is available online at: http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=400
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