USS America (LHA-6)

USS America (LHA-6) off Rio de Janeiro in August 2014
History
United States
Name:	America
Namesake:	United States
Awarded:	1 June 2007
Builder:	Huntington Ingalls Industries
Laid down:	17 July 2009
Launched:	4 June 2012
Sponsored by:	Lynne Pace
Christened:	20 October 2012
Acquired:	10 April 2014
Commissioned:	11 October 2014
Homeport:	San Diego, California
Motto:	"Bello vel pace paratus" ("Ready for War or Peace")
Status:	in active service
Notes:	Program cost: $10.1 billion(FY15) Unit cost: $3.4 billion(FY15)
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type:	America-class amphibious assault ship
Displacement:	44,971 long tons (45,693 t) full load
Length:	844 ft (257 m)
Beam:	106 ft (32 m)
Draft:	26 ft (7.9 m)
Propulsion:	Two marine gas turbines, two shafts, 70,000 bhp (52,000 kW), two 5,000 hp (3,700 kW) auxiliary propulsion motors.
Speed:	over 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Complement:	65 officers, 994 enlisted 1,687 Marines (plus 184 surge)
Sensors and processing systems:	AN/SPQ-9B fire control AN/SPS-48E airsearch radar
Electronic warfare & decoys:	AN/SLQ-32B(V)2 2 × Mk53 NULKA decoy launchers
Armament:	2× Rolling Airframe Missile launchers 2× Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile launchers 2× 20 mm Phalanx CIWS mounts 7× twin .50 BMG machine guns
Aircraft carried:	AV-8B Harrier II MV-22B Osprey F-35B Lightning II CH-53K Super Stallion UH-1Y Venom AH-1Z Viper MH-60S Knighthawk

USS America (LHA-6), the fourth American warship to be named for the United States of America, is the first of the America-class amphibious assault ships for the U.S. Navy. She was delivered in spring of 2014, replacing Peleliu 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.

The ship's design is based on USS Makin Island, but to allow more room for aviation facilities she does not have a well deck, and has smaller medical spaces. With a displacement of 45,000 tons, she is as large as the aircraft carriers of many other nations, and can fulfill similar missions when configured with 20 F-35B strike fighters.

The design is based on that of USS Makin Island (LHD-8), itself an improved version of the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship. Approximately 45% of the Flight 0 design is based on Makin Island, with the well deck removed to allow more room for aircraft and aviation fuel. The removal of the well deck for landing craft allows for an extended hangar deck with two significantly wider high bay areas, each fitted with an overhead crane for aircraft maintenance.