By February of 1995, the first four LHD-class ships had been delivered to the US Navy. These ships were outfitted with the air search radars SPS-48E and SPS-49 and, for target acquisition, the MK 23 series system and SLQ-32 electronic warfare system. The NATO "Sea Sparrow" surface-launched missile (naval equivalent of the original Sparrow air-to-air missile) and Phalanx Block 1 Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) were used for self-defense along with the MK 36 decoy launching system. In 1996-97, the USS Wasp was the first of her class to receive the Ship Self-Defense System Block improvement to counter the growing threat and capabilities of incoming anti-ship missiles. One of the original Phalanx mounts was removed and Mk 31 RAM (Rolling Airframe Missile) launchers were mounted at the forward end of the island superstructure and on the starboard quarter. In 1998, the ACDS and AN/SWY-3 control configuration were added to the class. This integrated capability/configuration included the MK 23 Target Acquisition System and multiple NATO "Sea Sparrow" and RAM missile systems. Wasp received the RAM Block 1 in late fiscal year 2002 - this improvement providing the ship class with high capability response against the short- and medium-range threat.
The USS Wasp was formally put to see on August 4th, 1987 and officially commissioned for service on July 29th, 1989 and has been in active service since. She was given the fighting motto of "Honor, Tradition, Ecellence" with a yellow and blue patch signifying this creed. The patch also includes the silhouette of a wasp in reference to the ship's official title.
In February 2004, the USS Wasp was reassigned to waters off of Afghanistan, taking along the Marines of BLT 1/6 and HMM-266 Rein. After the marines were offloaded, she returned to the United States to pick up more Marines from HMH-461, taking them to Djibouti. After leaving Djibouti in August, Wasp returned to Kuwait to pick up the Marines of HMM-266 Rein returning to Norfolk, Virginia in September of 2004. In July of 2006, then-Vice President Dick Cheney arrived on the USS Wasp to give a speech honoring the efforts of the USS Nassau Expeditionary Strike Group during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Wasp was the principal attraction at Fleet Week 2007 in New York City. In September of 2007, the USS Wasp was moved to Nicaragua in a humanitarian mission for the victims of Hurricane Felix.
The USS Wasp became the first ship to deploy the tilt-rotor Boeing V-22 "Osprey" transport helicopter in October 2007. These were carried to Iraqi waters in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. On October 2009, the USS Wasp deployed from its base at Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia on a three-month sea voyage down the Atlantic to Caribbean waters as part of "Partnership of the Americas". Onboard USS Wasp, the 1,100 crew and 365 Marines were involved in exercises in the US 4th Fleet area of responsibility. Before her return to Norfolk in December 2009, she dropped off Marines at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba for a 90-day training program. On June 29th, 2010, USS Wasp was sent to Halifax, Nova Scotia to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Navy.
Prior to October 2011, Wasp was upgraded to receive the new Lockheed F-35B "Lightning II" for testing. The F-35B is the product of the Joint Strike Fighter program and a proposed Marine Corp variant featuring Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) qualities akin to the aging AV-8B Harrier II series. The F-35B is scheduled to replace the Marine Corps McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F/A-18 Hornet, McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier and Grumman EA-6B Prowler series in their various ship-borne roles. The new aircraft will provide Wasp with a multi-role, fifth-generation fighter intended to reduce maintenance costs and ensure the Marine Corps tactical aircraft dominance required to protect the national interest. As of this writing (2011), the F-35B has surpassed 250 vertical landings including 72 vertical landings and short takeoffs from the deck of the USS Wasp alone. The next sea trial, DT-2, is scheduled for 2013 after Wasp receives additional modifications for F-35B operations.
The Navy received new orders for her forces in January 2012 concerning upcoming budget cuts reducing the number of ships in active inventory. This has forced a refocus of naval assets from the Atlantic to the Pacific theater in response. The major concern of the moment is China's decision to increase her naval presence in the South China Sea. China is locked in long-running territorial disputes with several neighboring nations including US-allied Japan, Philippines and Vietnam - all whom have repeatedly accused China of overt aggression in the region. They are among the several nations claiming sovereignty over islands in the sea in the hope that there will be oil and gas deposits there. US President Barack Obama has since ordered a boost to the US presence in the region and will base a full Marine task force in northern Australia as a result. USS Wasp may soon be reassigned to a new home port on the pacific coast of the US in response to the changing scenario.
Currently, the USS Wasp is equipped with 2 x Sea Sparrow missile launchers, 2 x RAM launchers, 2 x Phalanx CIWS, 3 x 25mm Mk 38 series guns and several 12.7mm heavy machine guns. Her currently supported aircraft wing includes up to 12 x CH-46 Sea Knight transport helicopters, 4 x CH-53E Super Stallion transport helicopters, 6 x AV08B Harrier II strike aircraft, 3 x UH-1N Huey transport helicopters, 4 x AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters and several MV-22 Osprey transport tilt-rotor aircraft.
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