Amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA-7) departs Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., April 7, 2022, with 20 F-35B Lightning II jets from Marine Fighter Attack Squadrons 211 and 225, Marine Aircraft Group 13, and 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, as well as Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1, as part of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Lightning carrier concept demonstration. (Photo: U.S. Marine Corps by Sgt. Samuel Ruiz)
By Rich Abott |
@ReaderRabott
1 year ago |
12/20/2022
Navy/USMC

HII’s [HII] Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula, Miss., started fabrication on the future America-class amphibious assault ship USS Fallujah (LHA-9) on Dec. 19.

The Navy said fabrication start marks the shipyard as ready for sustained production after successfully completing a production readiness review. It also marks the first 100 tons of steel being cut for the ship and that the shipyard is ready to move forward with construction.

Amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA-7) departs Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., April 7, 2022, with 20 F-35B Lightning II jets from Marine Fighter Attack Squadrons 211 and 225, Marine Aircraft Group 13, and 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, as well as Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1, as part of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Lightning carrier concept demonstration. (Photo: U.S. Marine Corps by Sgt. Samuel Ruiz)
Amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA-7) departs Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., April 7, 2022, with 20 F-35B Lightning II jets from Marine Fighter Attack Squadrons 211 and 225, Marine Aircraft Group 13, and 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, as well as Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1, as part of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Lightning carrier concept demonstration. (Photo: U.S. Marine Corps by Sgt. Samuel Ruiz)

“We are excited to announce that fabrication has started on the fourth ship of the America class. We look forward to achieving future production milestones as we work to deliver this versatile and capable warship to the Fleet,” Capt. Cedric McNeal, Amphibious Warfare program manager for Program Executive Office Ships, said in a statement.

“The start of fabrication on Fallujah is a significant milestone in the construction of this large-deck amphibious ship and demonstrates our ability to maintain a sustained LHA production line at Ingalls,”  Eugene Miller, Ingalls Shipbuilding LHA program manager, added.

The America-class LHAs (LHA-6) aim to replace the decommissioned Tarawa-class LHAs (LHA-1-5), which Ingalls also built. 

Fallujah will be the second Flight I version, meaning it has the basic aviation capability of the design, a larger flight deck for the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter and MV-22 Osprey, and a well deck for surface assault capability.

The Navy said the Flight I design also has additional cargo stowage capacities and enables “a broader, more flexible command and control capability.”

HII’s  shipyard in Pascagoula is also in production on the future USS Bougainville (LHA-8); the future destroyers Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125), Ted Stevens (DDG-128), Jeremiah Denton (DDG-129), and George M. McNeal (DDG-131); and the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships Richard M. McCool Jr (LPD-29), Harrisburg (LPD-30) and Pittsburgh (LPD-31).

In October, the Navy awarded HII a $2.4 billion contract modification for the detail, design and construction of LHA-9. That award came after $651 million in long-lead-time material contracts for LHA-9 in previous years (Defense Daily, Oct. 28).

Earlier this month, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced the ship would be named USS Fallujah in commemoration of the First and Second Battles of Fallujah during the Iraq War in 2004 (Defense Daily, Dec. 16).