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KEY POINTS USS America is steaming into the disputed waters where a Chinese survey ship is operating The U.S. had previously demanded that China stop its "bullying behavior" China has increase maritime activities in disputed waters amid coronavirus pandemic

The amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) conducts flight operations while underway to Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2016. US Navy photo. ABOARD USS AMERICA — The new amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6) has raised more than a few questions in its short life, with sailors and Marines alike wondering what it will mean to have an amphibious ship without a well deck and therefore without the ability to deploy landing craft to move heavy tanks and equipment ashore. America’s recent participation in the Rim of the Pacific 2016 international exercise may have allayed some concerns – the...

The USS America, a Gator Navy amphibious assault ship built specifically to accommodate Marine Corps F-35Bs, has just left port for sea trials after having to be overhauled for ten months immediately following its original introduction into the fleet due to issues over carrying the aircraft it was designed for. The USS America already had its well deck, used for launching and recovering hovercraft and beach landing ships for ambibous operations, omitted in its design to focus on aviation capabilities. In other words, it is an aircraft carrier not an amphibious assault ship. The main problem is that the ship...

The USS America, (PCU), LHA-6, the United States Navy's newest Amphibious/Air Assault and Sea Control Carrier nears completion in Mississippi. USS AMERICA, (PCU) LHA-6 She's 45,000 tons of US Navy fighting machine. Can carry up to two thousand Marines and the vehicles and wepaonry to support them, including transport helos, attack helos, and air support Harriers or later, F-35B Joint Strike Fighters. She can also be outfitted for pure sea control duties and operate as a modern "Jeep" Carrier, with 24 or so Strike Fighters, and support helicopters.

SAN FRANCISCO -- In 2005, the USS America aircraft carrier was towed out to sea on her final voyage. Hundreds of miles off the Atlantic coast, U.S. Navy personnel then blasted the 40-year-old warship with missiles and bombs until it sank. The massive Kitty-Hawk class carrier -- more than three football fields long -- came to rest in the briny depths about 300 nautical miles southeast of Norfolk, Va. Target practice is now how the Navy gets rid of most of its old ships, an Associated Press review of Navy records for the past dozen years has found. And they...

When Hornets Growl The new, supersonic face of e-warfare. By D.C. Agle Air & Space Magazine, March 01, 2011 No soft underbelly here: The EA-18G Growler hauls missiles, fuel tanks, and electronic warfare pods. Ted Carlson/Fotodynamics Two hours north of Seattle, Washington, at the eastern end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the entrance to Puget Sound is guarded by a citadel dedicated to the aerial mastery and manipulation of one of the universe’s fundamental particles—the electron. The site, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, was originally envisioned as little more than a waypoint for patrol aircraft scanning the Sound...

The Navy sent the retired USS America aircraft carrier to its final resting place at the bottom of the sea Saturday, in a closely guarded series of explosions that the Navy didn't announce until days later. The 84,000-ton, 1,048-foot warship, which served the Navy for 32 years, thus became the first U.S. carrier to be sunk since 1951, and the largest warship ever sunk. "Explosions were internal to the ship and allowed a controlled flooding," said Pat Dolan, a spokeswoman with the Naval Sea Systems Command. She declined to say where the ship now sits, except that it was 50...

The Navy will be towing the 40-year-old aircraft carrier, USS America, out of its berth at the old Navy Yard in Philadelphia Tuesday and taking it to its final duty station -- a secret location at sea. Built in 1961, commissioned in 1965, the Kitty Hawk-class attack aircraft carrier saw duty around the world, including Vietnam in 1968, 1970 and 1972 and Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1991. The ship was decommissioned in 1996. On Tuesday, tug boats will begin backing the 1,048-foot-long aircraft carrier out of it narrow berth for its long last voyage. Contrary to popular...

WASHINGTON -- The Navy plans to send the retired carrier USS America to the bottom of the Atlantic in explosives tests this spring, an end difficult to swallow for some who served on board. The Navy says the effort, which will cost $22 million, will provide valuable data for the next generation of aircraft carriers, which are now in development. No warship this size or larger has ever been sunk, so there is a dearth of hard information on how well a supercarrier can survive battle damage, said Pat Dolan, a spokeswoman for Naval Sea Systems Command. The Navy's plan...

Explosive tests will send aircraft carrier to bottom of Atlantic George Widman / AP fileThe aircraft carrier USS America will become the largest warship ever sunk. WASHINGTON - The Navy plans to send the retired carrier USS America to the bottom of the Atlantic in explosive tests this spring, an end that is difficult to swallow for some who served on board. The Navy says the effort, which will cost $22 million, will provide valuable data for the next generation of aircraft carriers, which are now in development. No warship this size or larger has ever been sunk, so...

Navy to Sink USS America, Explosive Final Service That Saddens Former Crew By John J. Lumpkin Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The Navy plans to send the retired carrier USS America to the bottom of the Atlantic in explosive tests this spring, an end that is difficult to swallow for some who served on board. The Navy says the effort, which will cost $22 million, will provide valuable data for the next generation of aircraft carriers, which are now in development. No warship this size or larger has ever been sunk, so there is a dearth of hard information...

Kennedy overhaul price tag balloons Years of neglect have added millions to the cost of upgrading ship By Rachel Davis Halfway through an extensive nine-month overhaul, the cost to refurbish the Jacksonville-based USS John F. Kennedy has risen significantly over the Navy's initial report. With millions added since work began in January, the maintenance cost for the Kennedy has climbed to about $ 300 million. The Navy says it can easily absorb the price tag, but U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw's office said it is beyond the usual estimated 15 percent for an aircraft carrier's repairs. Officials at the Navy's Air...