The U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6) approaches Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, for a scheduled port visit. America was traveling through the U.S. Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet areas of responsibility on its maiden transit, "America visits the Americas." The ship was scheduled to be ceremoniously commissioned on 11 October 2014 in San Francisco, California (USA). Wikipedia
Franz-Stefan Gady, The Diplomat: US Navy Builds Largest-Ever Amphibious Assault Ship for F-35 Fighters
The America-class will be the size of other countries’ aircraft carriers.
Over at military.com, Kris Osborne reports that the assembly of the second America-class amphibious assault ship, USS Tripoli, is going according to plan, with a third of initial construction already complete.
The ship “is approximately 30% complete. Fabrication has started on 211 units, 97% of all units, and 84 grand blocks are erected — 47% of the total,” according to a U.S. Navy spokesperson who provided Osborne with a written statement.
Scheduled for launch in in July 2017 and with a tentative induction date set for December 18, the ship is specifically designed to accommodate Marine Corps F-35B Joint Strike Fighters, along a host of other aircraft such as MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, CH-53 Super Stallions, and UH-1Y Huey helicopters.
WNU editor: What I find remarkable about this story is atht the U.S. Navy still has faith in the Marine Corps F-35B Joint Strike Fighters and what will be its role for these ships .... even with all of its problems .... Does The U.S. Navy Cares If The F-35 Cannot Win In A 'Dogfight'?
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