Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced on July 22, 2019 the successful completion of builder’s trials on the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA-7). The second ship in the America class spent four days at sea in the Gulf of Mexico, testing the ship’s main propulsion, combat and other systems before returning to HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division.

«Congratulations to the Navy and Ingalls team for a solid LHA 7 builder’s trials», said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias. «We have an excellent leadership team, and they will now be focusing on getting the ship ready for acceptance trials and delivery to the Navy. The flight deck modifications to support the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft provide an increased aviation capacity and demonstrate how an experienced team can evolve the platform to meet the current threats across the globe».

Ingalls is currently the sole builder of large-deck amphibious warships for the U.S. Navy. The shipyard delivered its first amphibious assault ship, the Iwo Jima-class USS Tripoli (LPH-10), in 1966. Ingalls has since built five Tarawa-class ships, eight Wasp-class ships and the first in a new class of ships, USS America (LHA-6). The third ship in the America class, USS Bougainville (LHA-8), is currently under construction at the shipyard and will be the 16th large-deck amphibious ship built at Ingalls.

«We work with an amazing team of individuals who are committed to making each LHA better than the last», said George S. Jones, Ingalls’ vice president of operations. «From our shipbuilders, test and trials crew, and our Navy Supervisor of Shipbuilding partners, there is never a doubt that when these warships go to sea for trials they go out with the confidence and dedication of our team behind them. We build these state-of-the-art warships for the men and women of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, and that is a responsibility our shipbuilders take great pride in, and that pride really showed during this trial».

Like the lead ship in the class, USS Tripoli (LHA-7) is designed for survivability with increased aviation capacity, including an enlarged hangar deck, realignment and expansion of the aviation maintenance facilities, a significant increase in available stowage for parts and support equipment, and increased aviation fuel capacity. Similar to its predecessors, the ship will be able to operate as the flagship for an expeditionary strike group.

Tripoli will be the third ship to bear the name that commemorates the capture of Derna in 1805 by a small force of Marines and approximately 370 soldiers from 11 other nations. The battle, memorialized in the Marines’ Hymn with the line «to the shores of Tripoli», brought about a successful conclusion to the combined operations of the First Barbary War.

 

General Characteristics

Builder	Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., Ingalls Operations, Pascagoula, Mississippi
Date Deployed	Delivered to the fleet in on April 10, 2014
Propulsion	Two marine gas turbines, two shafts, 70,000 total brake horsepower/52,199 kW, two 5,000 horsepower/3,728 kW auxiliary propulsion motors
Length	844 feet/257.3 m
Beam	106 feet/32.3 m
Displacement	Approximately 43,745 long tons full load/44,449 metric tons
Speed	20+ knots/23+ mph/37+ km/h
Crew	1,059 (65 officers)
Load	1,687 troops (plus 184 surge)
Armament	2 RAM (Rolling Airframe Missile) launchers
	2 NATO Sea Sparrow launchers with ESSM (Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile)
	2 20-mm Phalanx CIWS (Close-In Weapon System) mounts
	7 twin 12,7-mm/.50 cal. machine guns
Aircraft	9 F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) STOVL (Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing) aircraft
	4 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters
	4 CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters
	12 MV-22B Osprey VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) tiltrotors
	2 MH-60S Sea Hawk Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopters
	UH-1Y Huey helicopters

 

Ships

Ship	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Homeport
USS America (LHA-6)	07-17-2009	06-04-2012	10-11-2014	San Diego, California
USS Tripoli (LHA-7)	06-22-2014	05-01-2017
USS Bougainville (LHA-8)