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USS
KEARSARGE's principal mission is the embarkation, deployment, landing
and support of a Marine landing force anywhere in the world.
Serving as an Expeditionary Strike Group flagship, KEARSARGE commands
and supports elements of a Marine Expeditionary Unit, in an assault by
air and sea as well as command and support of all ships and submarines
of the Expeditionary Strike Group.
KEARSARGE
can also provide command and control and aircraft facilities for sea
control missions while operating with a Carrier Strike Group. The
ship's extensive medical facilities and berthing capabilities enable it
to provide effective care to returning troops under battle conditions,
or disaster relief in support of humanitarian missions during peacetime.
KEARSARGE
can support up to 600 patients while still providing routine care to
crewmembers and embarked troops. The LHD Class is second only to
the Navy's ready-reserve hospital ships USNS COMFORT and USNS MERCY in
medical support capability. Major medical facilities include four
main and two emergency operating rooms, four dental operating rooms,
x-ray facilities, a blood bank, laboratories and intensive care ward
facilities. Elevators rapidly transfer patients from casualty
collection areas on the flight deck and in the hangar bay.
For the
comfort of her crew and embarked troops, all manned spaces and berthing
areas are individually heated and air-conditioned. Crew and troop
berthing are on the same deck with messing, lounge, ship's store and
library facilities nearby. In addition to the library, on board
recreation is supported by a fully equipped gym, lounges and closed
circuit TV for the broadcast of movies, news and television
programming. Each Sailor and Marine is also afforded personal
email addresses and most have access to the internet.
In
carrying out its primary mission, the 844 foot long, 40,500 ton
KEARSARGE will transport and land ashore not only troops, but also the
tanks, trucks, other vehicles, artillery, ammunition and other supplies
necessary to fully support the assault. The assault support system
aboard ship coordinates horizontal and vertical movement of troops,
cargo and vehicles.
Monorail
trains, moving at speeds up to 600 feet-per-minute, transport cargo and
supplies from storage and staging areas throughout the ship to a
13,600-square foot well deck, which opens to the sea through the huge
gates in the ship's stern. There, the cargo, as well as troops and
vehicles, are loaded aboard landing craft for transport to the
beach. Air Cushioned Landing Craft (LCAC) can "fly" out
of the dry well deck, or the well deck can be ballasted down with as
much as 10 feet of water inside the well, allowing conventional landing
craft such as the LCU, LARC or Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV) to
enter or depart the well.
Simultaneously,
the ship's air traffic control capability supports helicopter flights to
the beach to transfer troops, cargo and vehicles brought to the flight
deck by two deck-edge e;evators and three cargo elevators, while
directing close air tactical support provided by embarked jet aircraft
and a full range of helicopters, as well as the Harrier Vertical/Short
Take Off and Landing (V/STOL) jets can conduct simultaneous operations
from the ship's 819 foot flight deck. The ship has also received
upgrades to support the V-22 Osprey, a tilt-rotor aircraft used for
troop and supply movement. KEARSARGE also has a full maintenance
and support capability for aircraft, amphibious vehicles and ships in
company.
The
ship's assault package also includes a wide variety of weapon and
electronic systems. The integration of intelligence systems,
tactical data links and various onboard computer Local Area Networks
ensures the most up-to-date and comprehensive tactical picture yet
available to embarked units in support of the missions of the embarked
Marine components.
KEARSARGE's
armament suite includes the NATO Sea Sparrow point defense missile
systems, the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) defense system, the PHALANX
close-in weapon system, 25mm chain guns and Electronic Warfare (EW)
protection systems for defense against anti-ship cruise missiles,
aircraft and surface vessels. The embarked aircraft also pose a
strong deterrent to threats against KEARSARGE and embarked Marine
elements.
Two steam
propulsion plants - the largest currently in use in the U.S. Navy,
delivering a combined 70,000 horsepower, propel the ship through the
water at speeds in excess of 24 knots. Electrical generators
aboard provide more than 16,000 kilowats of power to shipboard systems -
enough power to light 13,500 homes.
Two
pumping stations give KEARSARGE a 450,000 gallon fueling capacity for
embarked aircraft, other vehicles and ships in company. Onboard
distilling plants provide up to 200,000 gallons of fresh water each
day. Her 1,500 tons of air conditioning equipment is sufficient to
environmentally control a 32-story office building. KEARSARGE also
carries state-of-the-art environmental protection equipment including a
plastic refuse processing system.
LHDs are
the first U.S. Navy ships designed specifically to accommodate Air
Cushioned Landing Craft (LCACs), Harriers and V-22 Ospreys. The
over-the-horizon ability of the LCAC to provide high-speed ship-to-shore
and over-the-beach amphibious support in transporting personnel, weapons
systems and equipment offers the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps team a new
dimension in projecting combat strength ashore. LCACs enable
KEARSARGE to support combat forces ashore at increased stand-off
distances to hard landing points beyond the beach. The LCACs high
speed, greater than 40 knots, provides reduced exposure time and
multi-beach attack capability.
The AV/8B
Harrier's ability to take off and land vertically on virtually any firm
surface makes the aircraft a perfect addition to the KEARSARGE assault
package. The primary role of the ship's embarded jets is to
provide close air support for ground units. The can also be used
for sea control and prtection of the Expeditionary Strike Group.
Like the
AV/8B Harrier, the V-22 Osprey's tilt-rotor design gives it the ability
to take off and land vertically on virtually any relatively flat
surface. It performs vertical take-off and landing missions as
effectively as a conventional helicopter while also having the
long-range cruise abilities of a twin turboprop aircraft.
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