President Trump’s Monday announcement of the “Trump class battleship” made a splash, though the development timeline on them is unclear and, likely, far off. But another new ship may be closer to the fleet, according to a Navy announcement.
After a false start last year, the Navy has picked a design for the Medium Landing Ship, or LSM, a beach landing ship that the Marine Corps have long said is a vital component to its plan for a 21st Century island hopping campaign.
Earlier this month, the Navy selected the LST 100 from the Dutch company Damen Shipyards Group as the basis for the McClung-class LSMs, named for Marine Corps public affairs officer Maj. Megan McClung, who was killed on Dec. 6, 2006, in Ramadi, Iraq. McClung was the first female Marine officer to be killed in action in the Iraq war and the first woman who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy to die in combat.
Ultimately, the Navy plans to buy between 18 and 35 of the vessels, which are designed to beach themselves, allowing the Marine Corps to move forces ashore without requiring larger amphibious assault ships.
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The Marine Corps’ Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations concept, or EABO, calls for using smaller landing craft to move small teams to remote islands and coastlines that are within range of enemy weapons. China’s growing arsenal of anti-ship missiles – including hypersonic weapons – mean that EABO operations would likely have to be carried out without large amphibious ships or ports ashore to move and disembark Marine forces.
Each LST 100 is about 100 meters long and can carry a crew of 18 sailors and more than 200 Marines. The vessel also has a flight deck for medium helicopters and a stern ramp that can be used for Light Armored Vehicles, or LAVs.
The vessels can carry about 500 tons of cargo and feature clamshell doors and ramps on both the bow and stern, allowing vehicles and other equipment to roll on at port and roll off onto a beach. They also have a top speed of 15 knots, a total range of 7.250 nautical miles at a speed of 10 knots, and they can spend up to roughly two weeks at sea at a time.
The Navy’s goal is to start building LSMs starting next year with the first delivery scheduled for 2029, but the service’s shipbuilding record remains abysmal, as evidenced by the recent cancellation of the Constellation-class frigate.
The Constellation was also based on the design of an existing ship, but its configuration underwent numerous changes that led to delays and cost increases.
Now Navy Secretary John Phelan is trying to avoid having requirements creep doom the LSM as well. At the Reagan National Defense Forum in California, Phelan announced that any changes to the LSM’s design would require his personal approval. He also said he would hold a weekly meeting at 5 p.m. on Fridays to discuss any such proposed changes.
On our YouTube channel, Task & Purpose’s video producer, Kyle Gunn, goes into detail about how the LSM fits into the Marine Corps’ warfighting concept and what challenges the program might face.
