The USS Wasp, lead ship of the Wasp-class amphibious assault ships, will undertake a maintenance and modernisation programme at BAE Systems-Norfolk Ship Repair (NSR), following a contract award by the US Naval Sea Systems Command.
Valued at an initial $87.5m, rising to $104.7m if additional options are exercised, the programme is due to be completed by February 2026, according to the US Department of Defense (DoD). The US Navy is a primary customer of the NSR, which offers full-service repair facility, four piers, and two large drydocks for large vessel maintenance.
The USS Wasp is currently deployed to the European theatre of operations in the Mediterranean Sea, recently departing Minassol, Cyprus, in mid-October after the completion of a mid-deployment voyage repair process.
The vessel is the centrepiece of the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), which consists of the USS Wasp, amphibious transport dock ship USS New York, and dock landing ship USS Oak Hill, totaling more than 4,500 US Navy sailors and US Marines across the force.
Maintaining an ageing fleet
The USS Wasp is the latest of the Wasp class to undertake such a maintenance and repair programme, with the USS Bataan scheduled to undergo an up to two-year-long modernisation period before it returns to the active fleet in mid-2026.
On that occasion, General Dynamics NASSCO–Norfolk, based out of Norfolk, Virginia, was awarded a $311.1m firm-fixed-price contract action for maintenance, modernisation, and repair of the USS Bataan, according to the DoD.
General Dynamics NASSCO–Norfolk and BAE Systems-Norfolk Ship Repair are both located near to Naval Station Norfolk, the US Navy’s main naval base serving the eastern seaboard and Atlantic Ocean, and the largest single naval base in the world, serving upwards of 75 warships at any given time.
The US Navy’s Wasp-class LHDs
A total of eight Wasp-class amphibious assault ships (LHD) were built, with seven still in service with the US Navy, commissioning from 1989 onwards. The USS Bonhome Richard was sold for scrap in 2021 after the catastrophic fire while in port.
The LHDs can embark and support all elements of a USMC MEU of 2,000 marines, inserting forces ashore via helicopter, landing craft, and amphibious vehicles.
The Wasp class was designed to employ air-cushion landing craft (LCACS) and operate a squadron of Harrier II (AV-8B) STOVL (short take-off vertical landing) jets, with the newer F-35B STOVL aircraft also able to be embarked.
The USS Wasp was commissioned into service in September 1989, with the latest modernisation period taking the vessel into its 37th year of service.
Displacing around 41,000 tonnes at full load, the Wasp class are larger than most countries’ aircraft carriers, and can accommodate a mix of assault helicopters, plus six to eight Harriers for close air support.
A typical mix of helicopters is 12 CH-46 Sea Knight, four CH-53E Sea Stallion, three UH-1N Huey, and four AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters. The vessels are also able to embark the MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.
Edit: This article has been updated to reflect the disposal of the USS Bonhomme Richard.
