---
title: "Guess What Branch Just Dropped $1 Billion On New Beach-Landing Boats?"
date: "2017-09-29"
modified: "2017-09-29"
authors:
  - name: "James Clark"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/james-clark/"
url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-awards-1-billion-contract-maneuver-support-vessel/"
categories:
  - "Army"
  - "Military Branches"
  - "News"
  - "Tech & Tactics"
  - "Vehicles"
---

# Guess What Branch Just Dropped $1 Billion On New Beach-Landing Boats?

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/19043029-1.jpg>)

To replace its aging fleet of Vietnam-era Mike Boats, the U.S. Army awarded a massive contract — nearly $1 billion — to Oregon-based shipbuilder Vigor Works on Sept. 28, Defense News [reports](<https://www.defensenews.com/breaking-news/2017/09/28/army-awards-billion-dollar-contract-for-small-transportation-boats/>).

The contract is for the faster and larger Maneuver Support Vessel (Light), a 100-foot long beach landing boat capable of hauling one M1A2 Abrams tank, a pair of Stryker armored transports, or four Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, and their trailers.

The new boats boast a top speed of 18 knots and will replace the slower 74-foot long Landing Craft Mechanized 8, which tops out at eight knots — and has been in service since the 1950’s. With an estimated completion date of 2027, the fixed-price contract for the MSV (light) comes out to $979,794,011, [reports ](<https://www.defensenews.com/breaking-news/2017/09/28/army-awards-billion-dollar-contract-for-small-transportation-boats/>)Defense News.

The news that the Army will be dropping a dime (give or take 9.8 billion) on new landing craft is likely to catch some folks off guard — especially current and former members of the smallest branch of the armed forces, the Marines, a scrappy service routinely [wracked with insecurity](<https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/4-urgent-questions-the-us-marine-corps-14889>) over its place in the Defense Department hierarchy.

https://twitter.com/PaulSzoldra/status/913756450563833856

As much as the news is sure to stir up some old Corps rabble-rousers, it’s important to remember that for the Army, amphibious warfare and beach landings are nothing new — after all, it was the Corps’ bigger land-dwelling brother that led the charge at Normandy on D-Day, one of the largest amphibious landings in history.

Related: Confessions Of A Tank Commander »

That said, the new landing craft is likely to serve as a taxi for troops, arms, and equipment in an uncontested environment, rather than a combat ferry surfing onto a hostile beach to pour out its cargo of up-armored vehicles and heavily armed ground-pounders.

But, the news that the Army is eyeing a domain that the Marine Corps covets — at a time of increasing budget cuts, and finite resources — has faint echoes of a rivalry between the two services that [dates back to World War II](<https://www.usni.org/magazines/navalhistory/2017-06/semper-fidelis-defending-marine-corps>).

https://twitter.com/PaulSzoldra/status/913761724326584320

This could be good news for the Corps; after all, the Army has a history of passing along its hand-me-downs to Marines. So maybe they’ll get some “newish” Mike Boats to go with those M320 grenade launchers they just got.

*Hat tip to Paul Szoldra for flagging this news on [Twitter](<https://twitter.com/paulszoldra/status/913756450563833856>).*

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## Author
James Clark is the editor-in-chief of Task & Purpose. He is a former Marine and a veteran of the War in Afghanistan.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/JamesWClark>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/jclarkjournalism/>)