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That’s taking time when they go in for their upgrades, and that’s taking a little bit longer than expected.. We have been documenting the U.S. Navy’s troubles with one of its premier amphibious assault ships, USS Boxer (LHD-4). This Wasp-Class ship, per the Navy’s description, is “[t]he largest of all amphibious warfare ships [and] resembles a small aircraft carrier.” It is capable of Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing (V/STOL) fighter jet operations, meaning that because Boxer does not have launch catapults, it can’t launch classic aircraft carrier fighter jets like the F/A-18, but it can launch the venerable Harrier jump jet...

France on Tuesday inked a lucrative agreement to sell four Mistral warships to Moscow, with two to be built in Russia, in a move bitterly opposed by ex-Soviet states in the Baltics. The deal for the amphibious assault ships will be the first sale to Russia of such technology by a NATO country. France's NATO allies -- in particular Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia -- have expressed concern about arming Russia with modern Western weaponry. Leaked diplomatic cables showed that US Defence Secretary Robert Gates also raised Washington's concerns while on a visit to Paris last year

The Italian navy has received the go-ahead to procure two 20,000-ton amphibious assault ships (LHDs), with the possibility of a third ship, configured with extensive aviation facilities (LHA). The preliminary LHD project is funded and will take 12 months for completion. It will be followed by a project definition phase requiring eight months and leading to a contract. Delivery of the first ship comes within 30 months after that. If everything goes to plan, the first LHD arrives in late 2014. LHDs will replace two 8,000-ton San Giorgio-class LPDs, commissioned in 1987 and 1988. The LHA will eventually replace the...

Russia is interested in purchasing Mistral class amphibious assault ships from France only together with the accompanying technology, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on the eve of a visit to France. Russia is negotiating the purchase of at least one French-built Mistral-class amphibious assault ship and plans to build three more vessels of the same class in partnership with the French naval shipbuilder DCNS. "For us, this deal is interesting only if it is accomplished with a parallel transfer of technology, so that our shipbuilders - both civilian and military - receive a new technological boost for development," Putin said...

Closing in for the kill, Russia is said to be in final talks to buy a flotilla of four French helicopter-carriers - a deal massive both in terms of the vessels' size and their price tag. "At the moment we are in pre-contract talks on the warships with three states: Spain, the Netherlands and France. We plan to sign a contract for four of these ships," said Russia's Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov. Serdyukov said Russia would like at least three of the vessels to be built with the help of Russian shipbuilders, including one at a Russian shipyard. Talks to...

In the last months there has been a lot of interest expressed on FR about aircraft carriers. I have found that there is a lot of interest all over the net. So, I created a web site about all of the World's Aircraft Carriers. It will surprise you how many countries operate at least one...and also how many are building large-deck Amphibious Assault ships. Of course, no one holds a candle at this time to America's capabilities in this regard. Please enjoy, and let me know what you think. I hope it serves as a resource for naval enthusiasts everywhere....

USS San Antonio (LPD 17) on Sea Trials in the Gulf of Mexico The first ship of class, the USS San Antonio (LPD 17) set sale into the Gulf of Mexico on April 29, 2005, to undergo sea trials and returned on May 3, 2005. This is the first picture available of her sailing and comes from the Northup Grumman site. She represents our latest generation of medium sized (as compared to the much larger Wasp LHD class) Amphibious Assault ships for the 21st century. Her lift capabilities, her self defense capabilities, and her electronic, sensors, maintenance and battle...