The footage highlights the flexibility, mobility, and combat capabilities of amphibious forces. USS Boxer (LHD 4) and the embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit arrived in the Middle East on June 30 as part of a scheduled deployment. More than 2,600 sailors and Marines are deployed aboard USS Boxer (LHD 4), which operates helicopters, MV-22B Ospreys, F-35B Lightning II aircraft and landing craft in support of amphibious operations.

The Boxer (LHD 4) Amphibious Ready Group and embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit departed San Diego in March. The ARG also includes USS Comstock (LSD 45), which arrived in the region in early May.

The FY27-FY31 plan invests $8.3B in FY27 to procure two amphibious ships and six Medium Landing Ships (LSMs). Through the FYDP, the plan invests $29.3B to procure five LPDs, two LHAs, and 23 LSMs. This procurement strategy represents a generational investment in the nation’s crisis response and power projection capabilities, transitioning the fleet to Flight II LPDs and sustaining multi-mission LHAs.

The San Antonio-class amphib was the primary recovery vessel for the Artemis II mission, humanity’s first crewed flight to the moon in more than five decades. After the Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, USS John P. Murtha’s crew expertly brought the astronauts and their spacecraft safely aboard.

The selection of an amphibious warship highlights the LPD platform’s inherent flexibility, leveraging its large well deck, advanced medical facilities, and robust command-and-control systems to accomplish a mission vital to the nation’s future in space. USS John P. Murtha returned to San Diego on April 11.