The Navy christened the USS America on Saturday in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
As Home Post reported last week, USS America will be the first ship of its class. The Navy calls the America the next generation of "big-deck" ships, a mini-aircraft carrier of sorts:
It will be optimized for aviation, capable of supporting current and future aircraft such as the tilt-rotor <a href="http://www.marines.com/operating-forces/equipment/aircraft/mv-22-osprey">MV-22 Osprey</a> and Joint Strike Fighter.
Ingalls Shipbuilding will conduct sea trials with the America before its scheduled delivery date in 2013. The ship will be homeported in San Diego.
