The USS Tripoli is not quite an aircraft carrier—but her complement of F-35s serve as a shot across the bow to China after its recent exercises around Taiwan.

On Thursday, the United States Department of Defense (DoD) ordered the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to the Middle East in response to ongoing civil unrest in Iran. President Donald Trump vowed to “hit” the Islamic State if it continues to violently suppress anti-regime protests.

The fifth Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) had been operating in the South China Sea last week, conducting live-fire exercises as part of routine operations. The transit of CSG-3 to the Persian Gulf (also known as the Arabian Gulf) is expected to take about a week. CVN-72 is the first US Navy aircraft carrier to be deployed to the Middle East since USS Nimitz (CVN-68) departed from the region in September.

There is speculation that USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), which departed San Diego in November, will assume operations in the western Pacific from CVN-72.

Until then, another flattop will maintain a US presence in the waters where China has increasingly been active.

Understanding America’s Forward-Deployed Amphibious Assault Ships

The US Navy also announced on Thursday that the Tripoli Expeditionary Strike Group, which is composed of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), led by the forward-deployed America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA-7), began its initial forward-deployed assignment last month. USS Tripoli arrived in Sasebo, Japan, last summer, taking over for USS America (LHA-6), which returned to the United States for maintenance.

“The group’s presence promotes regional stability and maritime security in the US 7th Fleet,” the US Navy said in a statement.

In addition to LHA-7, the strike group consists of the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG-62) and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG-115).

“The Tripoli Expeditionary Strike Group is maintaining peace and security in the Indo-Pacific while assuring access to the seas for all nations,” said Rear Adm. Tom Shultz, commander of the Tripoli Expeditionary Strike Group. “As the only permanently forward-deployed expeditionary strike group, our Navy and Marine Corps team’s ability to operate in the air, on land, and sea, combined with anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and anti-surface warfare capabilities, allows us to support any contingency in the region.”

About the USS Tripoli

• Class: America-class Amphibious Assault Ship (LHA)
• Year Introduced: 2020
• Length: 844 feet (257 m)
• Beam (Width): 106 feet (32.3 m)
• Displacement: ~45,000 tons (full load)
• Propulsion: Two marine gas turbines, two shafts, 70,000 bhp (52,000 kW), two 5,000 hp (3,700 kW) auxiliary propulsion motors
• Top Speed: 22 knots (25 mph, 41 km/h)
• Range: Varies substantially based on complement / mission specs
• Armaments: 2 RAM missile launchers; 2 Evolved Sea Sparrow missile launchers; 2 Phalanx CIWS; 3 Mk 38 Machine Gun Systems; 7 dual .50 caliber machine guns. Air wing includes F-35B STOVL jets, MV-22 Ospreys, helicopters (like CH-53E, AH-1Z, UH-1Y); can carry up to 20 F-35Bs.
• Crew: ~1,059 + 1,800 Marines (when embarked)

Built by Ingalls Shipbuilding—now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries—in Pascagoula, Mississippi, the USS Tripoli was launched in May 2017. After running about a year behind schedule, she was finally delivered in February 2020 and commissioned on July 15 of the same year. She became the second America-class amphibious assault ship to enter service with the United States Navy. LHA-7 is the third US Navy warship named to honor the United States Marine Corps victory against the Regency of Tripoli at the Battle of Derna during the First Barbary War in 1805.

Although resembling an aircraft carrier and even larger than those of many foreign navies, LHA-7 is an amphibious assault ship capable of deploying Marine Expeditionary Units with upwards of 2,200 troops. She serves as the flagship of an expeditionary strike group or amphibious ready group.

Lacking a well-deck, as was found in the preceding Wasp-class landing helicopter dock (LHD) amphibious assault ships, the USS Tripoli (like the lead vessel, USS America) was designed instead to support air operations centered around the Lockheed Martin F-35B fifth-generation multirole aircraft. The short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft enable amphibious assault ships to serve as light or “Lightning Carriers.”

Amphibious Assault Ships Aren’t as Strong as “Real” Aircraft Carriers

Critics warn that conventionally powered warships lack the same survivability as true supercarriers, yet the warship’s role isn’t to engage in carrier-based operations against surface combatants. As the flagship of the 31st MEU, USS Tripoli can “conduct a variety of joint, maritime and amphibious multi-domain operations and activities,” the Navy added. This is why the MEU is “permanently positioned to provide a flexible and combat-capable force to contribute to deterrence, security, crisis response, and multi-domain military operations in the Indo-Pacific.”

Embarked on LHA-7 is a detachment of F-35Bs from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 242 (VMFA-242).

“The 31st MEU is flexible and responsive. We’re forward deployed and have longstanding, habitual relationships with Amphibious Squadron 11, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade and Special Operations Command Pacific,” said Col. Chris Niedziocha, commanding officer of the 31st MEU. “Those relationships, coupled with the unit’s high operational tempo ensure the MEU is always ready to respond to crises and campaign with our allies or fight tonight.”

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

Image: Shutterstock / wz94.

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