US Navy awards advance procurement contract for fourth America-class amphibious ship

By Baird Maritime - April 27, 2021.

*The America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli during builder's trials in the Gulf of Mexico in 2019 (Photo: US Navy)*

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division has received a contract modification from the US Navy for US$107 million to provide long-lead-time material and advance procurement activities for a new America-class amphibious assault ship (LHA).

The yet unnamed vessel will be the fourth America-class LHA to be built for the US Navy. Like its three earlier sisters, it will have a length of 844 feet (257 metres), a beam of 106 feet (32 metres), and two gas turbines with a total installed power of 70,000 hp (52,000 kW) to deliver speeds in excess of 20 knots.

Armament will include surface-to-air missiles, 12.7-millimetre machine guns, and a 20-millimetre close-in weapon system (CIWS).