The US Navy is sending its most powerful assault ship to the Pacific

Unlike the the Wasp-class amphibs, the new America-class ships are more focused on aviation than amphibious assault.

These flattop ships were designed with increased jet fuel and equipment storage, as well as more aircraft maintenance space. The USS America is capable of carrying around 20 short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) F-35Bs, a variant of the fifth-generation fighter built specifically for the Marine Corps.

They can also deploy with fewer fighters and more tiltrotor aircraft and helicopters.

The USS America was last in the Pacific from July 2017 to February 2018.

Turning amphibs into light carriers armed with F-35s is an experimental concept known as the "Lightning Carrier," a new take on the traditional "Harrier Carriers" (amphibs armed with AV-8 Harrier jump jets) rebranded with the name of the new stealth fighter jets.

Read more: US Marines turned a warship into an F-35 'Lightning carrier' in a test to boost US power

The USS Wasp recently sailed into the South China Sea with an unusually heavy configuration of ten F-35s. Observers suspect the Navy and Marine Corps were experimenting with the Lightning Carrier concept.

Read more: A US Navy warship was seen in the South China Sea carrying an unusually large number of F-35s

At one point, the USS Wasp was spotted launching fighter jets near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, putting Beijing on edge.

Read more: A US warship loaded with F-35 stealth fighters was apparently spotted near a disputed area in the South China Sea