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15h ago

Navy, Marine Corps Select Dutch LST-100 Design for Medium Landing Ships

Leaders pivot to an off-the-shelf hull to reduce risk, aiming to accelerate delivery through a competitively selected construction manager.

Landing Craft Heavy scale model on Austal's booth at Indo Pacific 2025. Damen's LST-100 design has also been selected by the Australian Navy for it's 8 ship Landing Craft Heavy program. Naval News picture by Alex Luck.
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Overview

  • The selected baseline is a roughly 4,000-ton landing ship with a range exceeding 3,400 nautical miles, according to service leaders.
  • The vessels are intended to move Marines and equipment across austere littoral areas where ports are unavailable, increasing operational mobility inside contested zones.
  • The Navy plans to award a vessel construction manager to oversee execution and foster competition among multiple U.S. shipyards, with specific shipbuilders and timelines still unspecified.
  • The Marine Corps requirement stands at 35 ships, though final quantities will depend on future shipbuilding budgets.
  • An earlier request for proposals was scrapped as unaffordable, and a separate $9.5 million award to Bollinger this year for an Israeli-derived design underscores parallel paths the Navy has explored.