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United States Huntington Ingalls Industries
America-class Amphibious Assault Ship
The U.S. Navy's newest big-deck amphibious assault ship class, optimized for aviation with an enlarged hangar and no well deck on the first two hulls to support F-35B and MV-22 operations at near-carrier scale.
In service since 2014 · 1 operator countries
Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02
44,971
t
22
kn
1,204
crew
💲 ≈ $3,400,000,000, Approximate unit cost
Procurement snapshot
Availability & export
US ITAR-controlled
Export needs U.S. State Dept (DDTC) approval; end-use & re-transfer restrictions apply.
Channel: Foreign Military Sales (FMS) or Direct Commercial Sale
Fielded & proven
Limited · 1 operator
In service since 2014. Status: active · ~4 built.
Lifecycle cost (est.)
$8.5B – $12B
Acquisition is only ~30% of lifecycle cost, operating & support dominate over ~35 yrs. Rough 2.5–3.5× the unit price. How we estimate this →
Interoperability
No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.
Derived guidance from public data, export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.
Compatible munitions & weapons
Publicly reported weapons the America-class Amphibious Assault Ship can carry. Linked items have a full spec page.
Full specifications
Firepower
Armament, payload and guidance.
| Main armament Primary weapon: main gun, cannon or missile type. | RIM-116 RAM, Phalanx CIWS |
|---|
Physical
Dimensions, weight and crew.
| Length Overall length including gun/probe where applicable. | 257 m |
|---|
Sensors & avionics
Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.
| Radar Primary radar. AESA (active electronically scanned array) is the current state of the art. | AN/SPS-48E 3D air search radar |
|---|
Program
Cost, production scale and operators.
| Unit cost Approximate flyaway/unit cost where public. Defense pricing varies hugely by contract, offsets and configuration. Lower is cheaper. | $3,400,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Units built Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability. | 4 |
| Operator countries Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem. | 1 |
Specifications compiled from public Huntington Ingalls Industries and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations, treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.
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Navantia Alvaro de Bazan class (F100) Frequently asked questions
What is the main armament of the Huntington Ingalls Industries America-class Amphibious Assault Ship? +
The Huntington Ingalls Industries America-class Amphibious Assault Ship's primary weapon is the RIM-116 RAM, Phalanx CIWS.
How many countries operate the Huntington Ingalls Industries America-class Amphibious Assault Ship? +
The Huntington Ingalls Industries America-class Amphibious Assault Ship is operated by 1 countries.
How much does the Huntington Ingalls Industries America-class Amphibious Assault Ship cost? +
The Huntington Ingalls Industries America-class Amphibious Assault Ship has an approximate unit cost of 3,400,000,000 USD. Defense pricing varies by contract, offsets and configuration, treat this as directional.
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