The USS Bataan (landing helicopter dock [LHD] 5) is a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship serving the US Navy in a variety of combat and non-combat humanitarian and relief operations for 26 years.

Most recently, the USS Bataan -- as the centerpiece of the three-ship Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) -- was tasked with transporting the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Special Operations Capable (SOC) to positions in the Red Sea.

More than 3,000 US sailors and Marines entered the Red Sea last Sunday (August 6) after transiting through the Suez Canal in a pre-announced deployment, the US Navy's 5th Fleet said in a statement.

They arrived on board the USS Bataan and USS Carter Hall warships, providing "greater flexibility and maritime capability" to the 5th Fleet, the statement from the Bahrain-based command added.

The deployment adds to efforts "to deter destabilizing activity and de-escalate regional tensions caused by Iran's harassment and seizures of merchant vessels," 5th Fleet spokesman Commander Tim Hawkins told AFP.

The US military says Iran has either seized or attempted to take control of almost 20 internationally flagged ships in the region over the past two years.

Multipurpose mission

The USS Bataan, commissioned in September 1997, is the fifth ship in the Wasp-class of US Navy multipurpose amphibious assault ships.

The mission of the USS Bataan is to enable a seamless transition from the sea to a land battle, as the lead ship of an ARG, according to the Navy fact sheet.

Each ARG is designed for amphibious assault, advance force and special purpose operations, as well as non-combatant evacuation and other humanitarian assistance missions.

The Wasp-class LHDs are currently the largest amphibious ships in the world, displacing more than 41,000 metric tons at full load and making them roughly the same size as other nation's full-size aircraft carriers.

The USS Bataan has a range of 9,500 nautical miles (17,594km) and a speed of 22 knots (40.7km/hour). Manned by a crew of roughly 66 officers and 1,004 enlisted, it can carry a contingent of more than 1,600 Marines.

The LHD can carry either three landing craft air cushion (LCAC), two landing craft utility (LCU), or 12 landing craft mechanized (LCM) inside the ship.

Each Wasp-class ship carries a mix of 20-plus aircraft that can include AV-8B Harrier II ground-attack aircraft, F-35B Lightning II stealth strike-fighters, CH-53E Super Stallion heavy lift helicopters, MV-22B Osprey medium-lift tiltrotor aircraft, AH-1Z Super Viper attack helicopters, MH-60 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters and UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters.

To defend itself, the USS Bataan is equipped with eight radar and sensor systems as well as five weapon systems, including two RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) launchers and two RIM-7 Sea Sparrow launchers.

These systems can provide a variety of missions from air traffic control to air defense.