Well, if you want to go with a straight LPH it would be hard to beat the HMS Ocean. Especially, in bang for the buck category…………………Yet, LHD’s offer why more versatility! While, the RN may currently have enough Amphibious Transports? (i.e. LPD, LSD, etc.) What happens if one is lost or out of Service??? Personally, I would go with a LHD as it could easily fill in for the other Dock Equipped Amphibious Ships.

If you have plenty of capacity A, & are short of capacity B, it doesn’t make sense to spend money increasing capacity A instead of capacity B. The RN has 6 dock landing ships, 4 of which have minimal troop carrying capacity. It has one (yes, one) front-line amphibious ship with helicopter hangarage, and 3 with real troop carrying capacity. Apart from a training ship, that one helicopter carrier is now the RNs oldest amphibious ship. Docks are in plentiful supply. We have ample cargo capacity (the LSDs, plus 6 militarised ro-ros, with limited amphibious capability via Mexeflotes). If one dock is out of use, it’s a minor inconvenience, at worst. The other dock ships can take up the slack. If the LPH is unavailable, we currently have to improvise by using a carrier: it’s a major problem.

The RN does not need more LSDs: the dock in an LHD would be a waste of space & money, for the RN. An encumbrance, not useful. A new LPH, on the other hand, would be welcome. It was identified as a requirement many years ago, and the modification of Ark Royal to enhance her amphibious capability (but still, inferior to Ocean, as well as having less remaining life) was meant to partly fill that gap.