The U.S. Navy is looking for concepts in support of the Next Generation Logistics Ship—also known as the Light Replenishment Oiler—program amid the service’s requirement for a combat logistics vessel that can operate in contested environments.
A pre-solicitation synopsis was put out last week calling for cost effective designs utilizing commercial standards for the future class of Navy replenishment ships. The service plans to procure up to 13 of the vessels, which are set to be smaller than the fleet’s existing John Lewis-class, Henry J. Kaiser-class, and Supply-class oilers and fast combat supply ships.
“The NGLS is envisioned to be smaller than existing ships in the Combat Logistics Force, operate in global maritime domains, and sustain afloat and ashore Navy and USMC requirements. NGLS is currently conceived to be a single ship type providing Refuel, Resupply, and Rearm capabilities,” read the solicitation.
According to the solicitation, designs for the Next Generation Logistics Ship should be cost effective by “leveraging commercial designs and shipbuilder experience and standards.” A Congressional Research Service report on the program stated that the Navy seeks to procure the first three ships of the class at $453 million each. Contracts for industry studies were also awarded in 2022 to several firms, including Austal USA, Bollinger Shipyards, and TAI Engineers.
These requirements for the next-gen logistics ship come amid the service’s challenges in the Indo-Pacific. The expansion of the People’s Liberation Army’s fleet and long-range missile arsenal has presented a significant threat to the U.S. Navy’s operations in the region in the event of a conflict with China.
Concepts such as the fleet’s Distributed Maritime Operations and the Marine Corps Expeditionary Advanced Basing Operations seek to mitigate Chinese advantages in regional fleet size and fires via dispersed and mobile forces able to operate under contested conditions.
Alongside the Next Generation Logistics Ship, the U.S. Navy has been examining other replenishment techniques and technologies to supplement the fleet’s forward operations. Last fall, the Navy demonstrated its first underway vertical launch system reload last fall and recently demonstrated another at-sea reload concept during Large Scale Global Exercise 2025. The service has developed the Modular CONSOL Adapter Kit and the Modular Fuel Delivery Station, which will allow commercial tankers to refuel Combat Logistics Ships and other military vessels.
