USS Helmand Province

Lead of the class USS America
History
United States
NameHelmand Province
NamesakeHelmand province campaign
BuilderHuntington Ingalls Industries
IdentificationHull number: LHA-10
General characteristics
Class and typeAmerica-class amphibious assault ship
Displacement44,971 long tons (45,693 t)
Length844 ft (257 m)
Beam106 ft (32 m)
Draft26 ft (7.9 m) (7.9 meters)
PropulsionTwo marine gas turbines, two shafts, 70,000 bhp (52,000 kW), two 5,000 hp (3,700 kW) auxiliary propulsion motors.
SpeedOver 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Boats & landing
craft carried
Complement
  • 65 officers, 994 enlisted
  • 1,687 Marines (plus 184 surge)
Sensors and
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament
Aircraft carried

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.

Design

Main article: America-class amphibious assault ship

The 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

The 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

  1. ^ 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
  2. ^ a b Freedberg, Sydney J. Jr. (3 October 2012). "Navy's Newest, LHA-6, A Dead End For Amphibious Ships?". Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  3. ^ Lagrone, Sam (28 July 2022). "Senate FY 2023 Appropriations Bill Adds $4B to Navy Shipbuilding, Money for New Amphibs". United States Naval Institute News.
  4. ^ Lagrone, Sam (2 May 2024). "SECNAV Del Toro Names Next Big Deck Amphib USS Helmand Province". United States Naval Institute.