Huntington Ingalls awarded advance procurement contract for US Navy LHA 9 Amphibious Assault Ship.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII) announced on May 5, 2020, that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has received a $187.46 million advance procurement contract from the U.S. Navy to provide long-lead-time material and advance procurement activities for amphibious assault ship LHA 9.

The LHA 9 will be the same America- class LHA amphibious assault ship as the LHA 8 Bougainville that is currently under construction. (Picture source U.S. Navy)

“This contract allows us to maintain the health of our critical nationwide shipbuilding supplier base while continuing our serial production of large-deck amphibious,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias said. “We will work closely with our Navy-Marine Corps partners and our suppliers across the U.S. to build another highly capable, versatile and survivable warship.”

Ingalls is currently the sole builder of large-deck amphibious ships for the Navy. The shipyard delivered its first amphibious assault ship, the Iwo Jima-class USS Tripoli (LPH 10), in 1966. Ingalls has since built five Tarawa-class (LHA 1) ships, eight Wasp-class (LHD 1) ships and the first in a new class of amphibious assault ships, America (LHA 6), in 2014. The second ship in that class, Tripoli (LHA 7), was delivered to the Navy earlier this year. Bougainville (LHA 8) is currently under construction.

The LHA 9 will be an amphibious assault ship of the American-class. The America-class LHA ships are a variant of the extremely successful Wasp-class LHD amphibious assault ships that are presently serving as workhorses in the U. S. Navy fleet.

Also known as “Large Deck amphibious ships,” they are the centerpieces of amphibious ready groups and a U. S. Marine Corps Air-Ground Task Force. They provide unparalleled sea basing capabilities including unequaled command and control and hospital capacities.

Large deck amphibious assault ships launch forces from air and sea, utilizing interior well decks and flight decks to conduct missions across the spectrum of operations that range from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to full combat force.

The Large deck amphibious ships are capable of supporting the most advanced Marine Corps aircraft, including the MV-22 Osprey and the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter.