Landing helicopter dock

A landing helicopter dock (LHD) is a multipurpose amphibious assault ship that is capable of operating as a helicopter carrier and also has a well deck for supporting landing crafts.

[1] LHD vessels are built with a full flight deck similar in appearance to a light aircraft carrier to operate VTOL rotorcrafts such as utility and attack helicopters, and can also support tiltrotor aircraft (such as the MV-22 Osprey) and VSTOL fixed-wing aircraft (such as the AV-8 Harrier and the F-35B Lightning II).

[1][2] Other nations also use the designation for their vessels, such as the Republic of Korea Navy for its Dokdo class.

[3] The Type 075 and Type 076 classes of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), though only regarded as amphibious assault ships in their native China, are considered LHDs in NATO reporting names.

[1] However, LHA-8 will feature a well deck, returning the terms to their more interchangeable state.