[10][1] The design of Bougainville is based on USS Makin Island, which is an improved version of the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship.

[2][12] The island structure will also be modified to free up more room on the flight deck to accommodate maintenance of V-22s, compensating for some of the lost aircraft hangar space.

[12] Bougainville will be the first of her class built with a redesigned and stronger main deck; the earlier America-class vessels America and Tripoli each required retrofitting in order to handle the strain of daily F-35B Lightning II flight operations.

[7] The Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers starting with John F. Kennedy and the planned LX(R)-class amphibious warfare ships will also have this radar.

[14] Bougainville is being built by Huntington Ingalls Industries at their shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi[3] and is expected to be delivered to the U.S. Navy in 2025.