The USS Tripoli, the Navy’s newest F-35 ‘lightning carrier,’ is headed to the Indo-Pacific, bolstering US air power near China

The USS Tripoli in the East China Sea.

The US Navy is stationing its new “lightning carrier” in the Indo-Pacific to counter China’s growing military influence.

The America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli is replacing the first-in-class USS America at Sasebo Naval Base in Japan as the forward-deployed amphibious flattop in the region.

Both the Tripoli and the America operate as mini flattops, carrying fixed-wing and rotary aircraft flown by Marine and Navy aviators, such as MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotors, MH-60S Knighthawk helicopters, and F-35B stealth jets.

The Tripoli has been central to the Navy’s experimental “lightning carrier” concept, demonstrating its flexibility to fulfill some of the missions of the much larger carrier air wings on aircraft carriers.

During its maiden deployment in 2022, the Tripoli carried 20 F-35B stealth fighters on board — the most F-35B jump jets ever aboard a big-deck amphibious ship.

Named after the first recorded land battle fought by the US overseas

Sailors manning the rails of the USS Tripoli as it transited San Diego Harbor. 

In May 2012, Huntington Ingalls Industries was awarded the contract to build the USS Tripoli, and the warship launched five years later in 2017 from Pascagoula, Mississippi.

It’s the third vessel to bear the Tripoli name, a tribute to the first recorded land battle the US fought overseas when Marines landed on Tripoli’s shores in 1805.

Initially planned to join the Navy’s fleet a year behind schedule in 2019, the Tripoli’s commissioning was pushed to 2020 because of “unspecified technical difficulties” and delays brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Second-in-class assault ship

The amphibious assault carriers USS Tripoli and USS America during a photo exercise in the East China Sea.

The Tripoli is the second America-class amphibious assault ship delivered to the US Navy. The 45,000-ton vessel measures 844 feet in length and 106 feet in width, similar in size to its predecessor, the Wasp-class amphibious warships.

Powered by two marine gas turbines, the warship has a speed of 22 knots or about 25 mph. The assault carrier is armed with surface-to-air missile systems, two automated gun-based close-in weapon systems, and seven heavy twin machine guns.

Prioritizing aviation capabilities

Sailors participating in aviation training in the hangar bay aboard the USS Tripoli. 

The America-class fleet was designed to prioritize aviation capabilities and lacks a well deck to launch amphibious craft.

In its place, the assault carriers have an extended hangar deck and wider high bay areas, which allow more room for aircraft and aviation fuel. The ships also have two aircraft elevators and additional space for aviation maintenance facilities.

The Tripoli’s flight deck can accommodate up to nine CH-53K King Stallion heavy transport helicopters flown by Marines. In a standard configuration, the Tripoli can carry up to 10 F-35B fighters, 12 Ospreys, and 16 military helicopters.

Amphibious warships typically operate as helicopter carriers designed to support near-shore operations. The America-class vessels, however, were modified with a more durable, heat-resistant flight deck to launch F-35B stealth fighters.

The ‘lightning carrier’ concept

The USS Tripoli completed flight deck operations with 20 F-35Bs as part of the US Marines’ “lightning carrier” concept demonstration. 

Taking its aviation capabilities even further, the US Navy used the Tripoli to test the “lightning carrier” concept, tasking the amphibious assault ship to function as a full-fledged carrier.

In 2022, the Tripoli departed its homeport in San Diego for the Western Pacific, spending the first few months of its seven-month maiden deployment putting the experimental concept to the test.

The assault carrier carried 20 F-35B stealth fighters on board — the most ever loaded aboard a big-deck warship.

“We refer to the ship as ‘assault carrier 7,’ and ‘assault’ is traditional for an LHD and LHA,” Capt. Joel Lang, the commander of the Tripoli at the time, told reporters. “Typically, the air combat element is a blend of rotary and tilt-rotor in order to enable that assault force to go ashore. We are proving the tactics and the techniques and the procedures to employ the ‘lightning carrier’ concept.”

Produced by the US defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin, the fighter jet has a stealth design to vastly reduce its ability to be tracked by radar and is touted as one of the world’s most advanced fighters. The F-35B variant has a powerful propulsion system that gives it the unique capability of vertical takeoff and landing.

Developed by Rolls-Royce, the lift fan delivers an additional 20,000 pounds of thrust on top of the aircraft’s engine thrust, allowing it to land and take off like a helicopter.

The F-35B allows Marine aviators to operate aboard smaller flattops and makeshift airstrips, especially on expeditionary missions. With far more advanced capabilities and avionics, the F-35B is set to replace the US military’s only other STOVL fighter jet, the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier, which is expected to retire by 2027.

Strengthening US air power in the Indo-Pacific

Sailors manning the rails as the USS Tripoli returned to its homeport. 

While the Navy doesn’t intend on substituting full-fledged carriers with “lightning carriers,” operating smaller flattops bolsters the fleet’s air power — at a much lower cost.

An America-class assault ship costs about $3.4 billion, nearly a quarter of the cost to manufacture a new Gerald R. Ford-class carrier, which costs about $13 billion, though the latter possesses more advanced capabilities and carries more than 60 aircraft.

“One day, you can have F-35Bs on the flight deck; the next day, you could have MV-22s, and you can be putting Marines ashore,” Vice Adm. Karl Thomas, the then commander of the US 7th Fleet, said following the concept testing. “And so it just is a very versatile instrument.”

The “lightning carrier” concept could play a larger role in deterring China, which now has the world’s largest navy.

Thomas said he believed that despite still being in the experimentation phase, an assault carrier carrying 14 F-35Bs was “much more capable” than either of China’s operational aircraft carriers, the Liaoning and the Shandong, “both from a sortie-creation perspective as well as just a sheer capability.”

Last December, China unveiled its own massive assault ship, the Sichuan, which can launch fighter jets or drones. The first Yulan-class landing helicopter assault ship has a flight deck as large as three football fields, about as long as the US Navy’s America-class LHAs but 60 feet wider. China, however, doesn’t have a carrier-based stealth fighter yet.

Expanding the Navy’s amphibious fleet

A US Marine Corps F-35B Lightning taking off from the flight deck of the USS Tripoli.

Recognizing the operational flexibility of assault warships, the Navy aims to expand its amphibious fleet to at least 31 vessels — 10 of which must be big-deck LHAs.

Two more America-class LHAs — the USS Bougainville and the USS Fallujah — are being built at HII’s Mississippi shipyard. The fifth-in-class USS Helmand Province was named last May and has yet to start construction.

Last May, HII was awarded a $9.6 billion contract to ramp up construction on the Navy’s amphibious fleet. The deal includes the construction of three San Antonio-class amphibious transport docks and the next America-class big-deck ship.

“Upgrading our fleet with amphibious combat vehicles capable of supporting sea denial and maritime operations will further bolster our ability to support deterrence efforts and respond to contingencies in the Indo-Pacific,” Lt. Gen. Roger B. Turner, the commander of III Marine Expeditionary Force, said in a statement.