Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has awarded a subcontract to TenCate Advanced Armor for the supply of armour materials, which will support the US Navy’s America-class large-deck amphibious assault ship, USS Tripoli (LHA 7).
HII was awarded a $2.38bn fixed-price incentive contract in 2012 for the design and construction of the multipurpose amphibious assault vessel.
Under the subcontract, Tencate will deliver advanced composite armour for USS Tripoli during its construction at the company’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division.
TenCate Advanced Armor USA president Mark Edwards said protecting sailors remains a top US Department of Defense objective.
"Our advanced materials and manufacturing capabilities have enabled Ingalls Shipbuilding to incorporate these materials in their latest ship class," Edwards said.
USS Tripoli and USS America (LHA 6) are the first two vessels of the new America-class of amphibious assault ships, which are designed to carry a marine expeditionary unit (MEU) by means of helicopters.
Capable of carrying 1,059 crew members, the 844ft-long and 106ft-wide vessel can also accommodate marine helicopters, MV22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and F35B joint-strike fighter (JSF) aircraft.
Scheduled to be delivered to the navy in 2018, USS Tripoli features an improved aviation capacity to house a broadened hangar deck, realignment and expansion of the aviation maintenance facilities, and a rise in existing stowage for parts and support equipment, as well as better aviation fuel capacity.
In 2012, Northrop was awarded a subcontract to supply the machinery control system (MCS) for the vessel.
Image: An illustration of the US Navy’s USS Tripoli amphibious assault vessel. Photo: courtesy of Koninklijke Ten Cate.
