Originally Posted by
ORAC
Well with the U.S.S. America charging off into the South China Sea in support of the Malaysian West Capella drillship in a stand-off against the Chinese, maybe they’ve decided the large carriers are too big to risk and somewhat of an unusable asset to risk in combat against a peer opponent?
Or perhaps just a case of using a platform for its intended role? The AMERICA is an aviation heavy LHD, differing from the WASP class she is derived from. With larger spaces for aviation fuel and designed to support larger aviation elements including the F-35B (with the loss of the well deck and some vehicle storage).