MILNET: Amphibious Assault Ships
Admiral Jay L. Johnson, Chief of Naval Operations has said, the Amphibious Assault Ship is an important part of a set of resources "...vitally important to world peace and stability".
The LHA, similar to a huge aircraft carrier, is home to a huge amount of resources to be used in the assault of a given target, forward deployed or at the ready. In fact the specifications look a lot like a carrier, including the fact that there is little armament for ship self protection. And like a carrier, the aircraft aboard can act as protection if necessary. But unlike the carrier, the aircraft on board are not positioned, deployable, or missioned to protect the ships, rather than LHA embarked aircraft are intended to assume a mission on shore, or perhaps to attack nearby surface vessels. Certainly no one would expect a Harrier to take on a air superiority fighter inbound with a cruise missile.
The LHA is more like a transport of these aircraft, allowing them to launch and conduct missions to support an amphibious assault. The only self protection on board are a number of machine guns and the last ditch efforts of 2 Phalanx CIWS guns.
Thus the LHA depends upon other surface combatants for real protection. So naturally you will always find one or more cruisers, destroyers, or frigates nearby, ready to protect the assault force at sea. And therefore, a common place to find an LHD is in the midst of the capital ships in a battlegroup, steaming their way to the target vicinity.
Here is the data for an example ship, the U.S.S. Belleau Wood:
Tarawa Class Amphibious Assault Ship
For More Information, see the U.S. Navy Fact File
| Specification | Value | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Builder | Litton/Ingalls, Pascagoula, Mississippi, Commissioned 9/23/78 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Displacement | 40,000 tons, fully loaded | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dimensions (len, wid, hgt), ft | 820 x 106 x 26 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Propulsion | 2 shaft steam turbine, total of 70,000 shp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Performance | 24 knots | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crew | 64 Officers, 65 CPOs, and 800 enlisted for ships complement, 2,000 troops | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elevators | 2 (deck edge=40,000 lb capacity, stern=80,000 lb capabity) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Armament |
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| Aircraft | 27-30
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| Sensors |
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