Wasp-class amphibious assault ship

The Wasp class is a class of landing helicopter dock (LHD) amphibious assault ships operated by the United States Navy. It is based on the Tarawa class, with changes to operate more advanced aircraft and landing craft, and it can carry almost the full strength of a Marine Expeditionary Unit and land it in hostile territory by landing craft or helicopter, while giving air support with AV-8B Harrier II attack aircraft or F-35B Lightning II stealth strike fighters. All Wasp-class ships were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding at Pascagoula, Mississippi, and the lead ship, USS Wasp, was commissioned on 29 July 1989. Eight were built, and as of April 2021 seven are in active service, after USS Bonhomme Richard was seriously damaged by fire on 12 July 2020 and decommissioned in April 2021.