Moving at speed from the Philippine Sea near China, the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA-7) is now on station for U.S. Central Command. Aboard are 2,200 Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. With them are aircraft designed to strike into Iran — or control coastal positions along the Strait of Hormuz.
And get this: all of Tripoli’s aircraft are designed for vertical takeoffs from the flight deck. Yes, even the F-35B stealth fighters aboard can take off like helicopters.
This tailored crisis response force will give President Donald Trump fresh options to wrap up Operation Epic Fury. “The Strait of Hormuz could be open tomorrow if Iran stops threatening global shipping,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week. USS Tripoli is set to help.
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Amphibious ready groups (ARGs) are often poised for noncombatant evacuations. “The ARG-MEU is the Swiss Army knife of the joint force. It can do just about anything,” Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command, testified to Congress on March 17. Trump uses amphibious ships in historic ways. You saw the USS Iwo Jima, another amphibious ship, taking an active role in the raid to apprehend former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January.
USS Tripoli is often called a helicopter carrier. At 844 feet long, Tripoli is a pure aviation machine. Most other amphibious ships have a well deck with a ramp into the sea for launching landing craft. Tripoli’s design traded away the well deck for extra aviation fuel, hangar deck space and weapons storage.
For USS Tripoli, the mission against Iran could include maritime interdiction, airstrikes, air assault or controlling key sea lanes and terrain ashore. Operation Epic Fury is first and foremost an air campaign. Here’s a look at Tripoli’s combat planes and helicopters now entering the fight.
The MV-22B Osprey: The Marine MV-22B is a tiltrotor assault aircraft that can hover like a helicopter or fly far and fast. Two engines on the tips of a fixed wing point upward like helicopter blades, then rotate for level flight at 300 mph — much faster than any helicopter. MV-22s started flying combat missions with Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their typical operating range of up to 1,000 miles puts any Iranian strategic asset in range. Back aboard ship, the Osprey’s wings fold up, which is essential for deck operations.
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The F-35B Lightning “Jump Jet”: You have seen U.S. Air Force F-35As and F-35Cs from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln excelling in the skies over Iran. The Marine Corps F-35Bs on Tripoli are stealth fighters of a different breed: jump jets built for vertical takeoff and landing. The F-35B’s aft engine nozzle swivels down 95 degrees to redirect engine thrust and lift the rear of the aircraft. Behind the cockpit, a 50-inch counter-rotating lift fan adds more thrust. Roll posts in the wings provide roll control for level flight. Tripoli can be configured as a “Lightning carrier” to host 19 F-35Bs, bringing a full range of weapons and the ability to counter drones and strike ground targets. Marine F-35Bs can carry the 230-mile stealthy, supersonic AGM-158 JASSM ground-attack missile and its cousin, the long-range anti-ship missile. That should scare any Iranian forces still operating.
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Big helicopters: At 88 feet long, the CH-53E Super Stallion is the biggest helicopter in the U.S. military. One of these giant CH-53E helicopters was photographed landing on Tripoli back in January. Armed with .50-caliber machine guns at the windows, the CH-53 can carry a few dozen Marines, and their mission is amphibious assault. Along with them are MH-60S Sea Hawks. A variant of the Army Black Hawk, the “Sierra” version of the Sea Hawk, can engage Iranian small boats, deploy airborne mine countermeasures in the water and carry out “special warfare” tasks.
Worried about the risky waters near Iran? Don’t be. Well defended inside the sea-based umbrella of Aegis destroyers, Tripoli also has deck guns and missiles of her own, such as the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile. Her hull design was proven years ago, when sister ship USS Wasp passed full-ship shock trials. That’s a test where the Navy detonated thousands of pounds of ordnance near the ship at sea to validate resilience. All good.
USS Tripoli’s Marines arrive ready to fight. After all, Tripoli is named after expeditions against the Barbary pirates memorialized in the lyrics of the Marine Corps anthem: “From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli.” In 1804–1805, the Marines pushed back Barbary pirates who had been plundering seaborne commerce and controlling trade routes. Sound familiar?
USS Tripoli deployed forward to Japan last year as part of a regular rotation and was running exercises with Japan when CENTCOM called. After Iran, it will be back to the Pacific with battle-tested capabilities to deter China.
