Analysis of amphibious ship lift capability

• Main Author: Williams, Eric D.
• Other Authors: Buttrey, Samuel E.
• Language: en_US
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2012
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/7884

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited === Amphibious ship lift is crucial in supporting operations of Marine Air Ground Task Forces (MAGTF) for a wide range of conflicts. This thesis examines three different aspects of amphibious ship lift capability. First, gross lift capabilities of all amphibious ships in the Navy today are determined. Since some storage space on board a ship is required for access, tie-downs, and other considerations, the second step of this thesis is to use historical load-out data from six-month deployments to derive expected net lift capability from gross lift capability. A three-ship Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) is traditionally required to support a six-month MAGTh deployment. 'The final part of this thesis utilizes a linear program to determine specific ship combinations that optimize ARG lift capability for both the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets.