The United States has been the world’s leading maritime power for decades.
However, the US Navy could find itself in China’s wake if current trends continue.
Washington and Beijing are now locked in great power competition. The United States
basic power is based on its command of global trade and domination over the world's oceans.
As a hegemonic global power, the United States will retain its dominance over the oceans
as long as it can deploy air, naval, and amphibious power to any area of the
globe and intervene in crises using carrier strike groups and amphibious task forces.
However, the emergence of an important actor such as China,
which intends to be the world's hegemon, and the technological success it has achieved
in the commercial field of weapon production, began to pose a threat to the US naval force.
With new technologies and concepts, the US aims to deter China and protect its maritime superiority.
Undoubtedly, the most critical issue for the US is the persistence of power projection capability.
Therefore, the second of the America class Amphibious Assault ships, the USS Tripoli,
is considered an essential step for this purpose. In May of 2019, the USS Tripoli was launched.
She will be an aviation-centric amphibious assault ship designed to project power
at long ranges using Osprey helicopters and F35B stealth aircraft. She was built without
a well-deck to provide for more hangar room for planes to embark significantly more airpower,
as well as particular accommodations for the F35B Joint Strike Fighter. F35B JSF brings a wide range
of new sensors, weaponry and aviation technology to the Corps, is a very different aircraft than
the Harrier jets it is replacing. F35B can not only rely upon stealth technology and
long-range sensors to attack enemy forces and air defenses, but small fleets of F35 can depend upon
a common data link to operate as aerial nodes as well. F35 will expand network coverage,
helping unmanned aerial, surface and subsurface drones to operate in the same network.
According to the US amphibious assault strategy, as a mother platform, amphibious assault ships
are able to dispatch and operate small fleets of attack and surveillance air and surface drones.
The concept is to have larger manned ships operating in a command and control capacity
while operating amphibious operations at safer standoff distances. Such an
approach can leverage the range and advantages of stealth air attack, long-range network based
assault missions and drone boat attacks to find vulnerable points across the enemy coastline.
America-class amphibious ships are capable to carry up to 3,000 sailors and marines,
including elements of a Marine Expeditionary Unit, or MEU, designed for amphibious warfare.
Amphibious technology onboard the ship can include up to 60 HMMWs,
Light Armoured Vehicles, mortars, artillery and smaller Internally Transportable Vehicles,
or ITVs, configured to drive into the back of an Osprey, Navy and Marine Corps.
Totally, America Class amphibious ships are configured to house as many as 31 aircraft
including 12 MV 22 Ospreys and the CH 53 Super Stallion, AH 1Z Super Cobra, UH 1Y Huey,
F35B Short-take-off-and-landing Joint Strike Fighter and MH60 Sea Hawk helicopter. The US has
been trying to build a sea wall in the East and South China seas to cut off China’s communication
with the rest of the world. Although China aims to demolish this wall with newly developed weapons
and ships, the US continues to surround China with new ships and concepts that will contribute
to its superiority in new amphibious power and newly designed concepts. Pacific region
has turned into a chessboard on which the US and China have been constantly moving.
For sure, America-class amphibious assault ships will contribute to its presence and supremacy
over the region. On the other hand, China has been building Type 075 class LHDs which
are estimated to be a larger platform than America-class. It’s obvious that China will
not give up on the race against the US if it would be able to maintain its growth rate.