Textron Systems has been contracted by the US Navy to construct additional Landing Craft Air Cushion 100-class (LCAC 100) ships.
The $353.9 million modification contract includes the manufacture and delivery of three hovercraft, with a projected completion date of 2031.
It expands upon a main order for up to 73 vessels that was signed in August 2023 to replace the military’s aging LCACs, which have been in service since the 1980s. With a combined output of 28,000 horsepower, each vessel is driven by four Rolls-Royce MT7 gas turbines, which are a changed version of the Bell V-22 Osprey vertical takeoff and landing plane. Each ship can be equipped with grenade launchers, machine guns, and mounted naval cannons.
The 92-foot (28-meter) LCAC can travel at a maximum speed of 35 knots (65 kilometers/40 miles per hour) and has a range of around 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers/230 miles).
