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Amphibious assault ship USS Helmand Province (LHA-10)

Amphibious assault ship USS Helmand Province (LHA-10) 0

Classification

Ship class:
America-class amphibious assault ship
Type:
Amphibious assault ship (LHA, LHD, LPH)

Basic information

Namesake:
The Afghan Helmand Province
Operator:
United States NavyUnited States Navy
Country of build:
Builder:
Ingalls ShipbuildingIngalls Shipbuilding
Status:
Under construction

Ship measurements

Displacement:
45,693 t
Length:
257 m
Beam:
32 m
Draft:
7.9 m

Machine

Propulsion:
  • 2 * marine gas turbines, 70,000 bhp (52,000 kW)
  • 2 * 5,000 hp (3,700 kW) auxiliary propulsion motors
  • 2 * shafts
Speed:
22 knots

Personnel

Complement:
1,059
Embarked units:
1,687

Combat assets

Boats & landing craft:
  • 4 * Landing Craft Air Cushion or
  • 1 * Landing Craft Utility
Electronics:
  • AN/SPQ-9B fire control
  • AN/SPY-6(V)2 EASR airsearch radar
  • AN/SLQ-32B(V)2
  • 2 * Mk53 Nulka decoy launchers
Armament:
  • 2 * Rolling Airframe Missile launchers
  • 2 * Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile launchers
  • 2 * 20mm Phalanx CIWS mounts
  • 7 * twin .50 BMG 12.7mm machine guns
Aircraft:
  • MV-22B Osprey
  • F-35B Lightning II
  • CH-53K King Stallion
  • UH-1Y Venom
  • AH-1Z Viper
  • MH-60S Knighthawk

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.

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.

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. 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.

The then-LHA-10 was authorized by the United States Congress in 2023, providing $US 1.38 billion for her procurement.

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.

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