April 17 (UPI) — Textron, Inc., has been awarded a $386.3 million contract modification for the construction of new landing craft, air cushion vehicles for the Navy, the Pentagon announced Thursday.
The landing craft, air cushion is a high-speed, fully amphibious landing craft capable of carrying a 60-75 ton payload, and is used to transport weapons systems, equipment and cargo and personnel for the Marine Air-Ground Task Force from ship to shore, according to the Navy.
According to the Department of Defense, the existing fleet of LCAC vehicles is nearing the end of its service life and are being replaced through the Pentagon’s Ship-to-Shore Connector Program.
“The SSC mission is to land surface assault elements in support of operational maneuver from the sea at over-the-horizon distances while operating from amphibious ships and mobile landing platforms. SSC provides increased performance to handle current and future missions, as well as improvements, which will increase craft availability and reduce total ownership cost,” said the Pentagon’s contract announcement.
The bulk of work on the contract will be performed in New Orleans, La. The deal has an expected completion date of January 2025.
