
The commander of U.S. 7th Fleet last week said recent experimentation with the America-class USS Tripoli (LHA-7) amphibious assault ship loaded with Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-35B fighters tested how the vessel, dubbed an “assault carrier,” can work with a Navy aircraft carrier strike group. Several months this year, the Navy experimented with the LHA-7 loaded with up to 20 F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters in a concept formerly called the “lightning carrier.” This was first fully demonstrated starting in…