USS Helmand Province (LHA-10) will be the fifth America-class amphibious assault ship of the United States Navy. The ship is named after the Afghan Helmand Province, the site of a US Marine Corps campaign during the War in Afghanistan.
_F-35B_loaded.jpg) Lead of the class USS America
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Helmand Province |
| Namesake | Helmand province campaign |
| Builder | Huntington Ingalls Industries |
| Identification | Hull number: LHA-10 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | America-class amphibious assault ship |
| Displacement | 44,971 long tons (45,693 t) |
| Length | 844 ft (257 m) |
| Beam | 106 ft (32 m) |
| Draft | 26 ft (7.9 m) (7.9 meters) |
| 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) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | |
| Complement |
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| Sensors and processing systems | |
| Electronic warfare & decoys |
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| Armament |
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| Aircraft carried | |
Design
editThe design of Helmand Province is based on USS Makin Island, which is an improved version of the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship. While Makin Island has a well deck, the earlier two Flight 0 America-class ships USS America and USS Tripoli were designed and built without a well deck to make space for aircraft and aviation fuel.[1]
She will be the third Flight I America-class ship, and as such will include a well deck. The design of the Flight I America-class ships, including that of Helmand Province, adopts a compromise, incorporating a slightly smaller aircraft hangar as well as smaller medical and other spaces to fit a small well deck for surface connector operations.[2] The island structure will also be modified to free up more room on the flight deck to accommodate maintenance of V-22s, compensating for some of the lost aircraft hangar space.[2]
History
editThe then-LHA-10 was authorized by the United States Congress in 2023, providing $US 1.38 billion for her procurement.[3]
The ship was named by Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro on 2 May 2024, intending to honor the US sailors and marines who fought in the strategic Helmand Province Campaign during the War in Afghanistan.[4]
References
edit- ^ GAO-09-326SP 'Defense Acquisitions: Assessments of Selected Weapon Programs', U.S. Government Accountability Office, 30 March 2009, archived from the original on 30 August 2009, retrieved 2 May 2024
- ^ a b Freedberg, Sydney J. Jr. (3 October 2012). "Navy's Newest, LHA-6, A Dead End For Amphibious Ships?". Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ Lagrone, Sam (28 July 2022). "Senate FY 2023 Appropriations Bill Adds $4B to Navy Shipbuilding, Money for New Amphibs". United States Naval Institute News.
- ^ Lagrone, Sam (2 May 2024). "SECNAV Del Toro Names Next Big Deck Amphib USS Helmand Province". United States Naval Institute.