Announced by Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) John C. Phelan on December 5th, the United States Navy and Marine Corps has chosen Dutch shipbuilder Damen’s LST 100 landing ship for the Medium Landing Ship (LSM) program.
Via a video posted on X, SECNAV joined by the commandant of the Marine Corps Eric Smith, and Chief of Naval Operations Daryl Caudle outlined key information regarding the advancement of the program meant to augment the Marine’s mobility in Littoral environments. SECNAV’s announcement came after several RFIs were published regarding construction proposals and the submission of key data packs for submitted designs.
The selection of the design for the LSM contract was borne out of the U.S Marine Corp’s needs to rapidly field additional littoral transport capability in austere conditions where major port facilities and infrastructure are lacking. Additionally, the selection of an “off the shelf” design already present on the market is targeted at the goal of minimizing production risk and bringing down cost, a factor which reported by SECNAV to have hamstrung previous Marine Corps efforts to field a similar vessel in 2024.
“The LST-100’s cargo capacity, helicopter capacity, berthing and crane make it an excellent choice.”
– General Eric Smith, Commandant of the United States Marine Corps
Damen’s design for the LSM program, the LST 100, is a ~4,000 ton vessel capable of transporting cargo and Marines over 3,400 nautical miles, with a focus on in-theater mobility of Marine assets. The vessel, as per Damen’s specifications, can carry 500 tonnes of cargo in 1,020 square meters of roll on-roll (RORO) off space with a length of 100 meters and a width of 16 meters.
The Marine Corps intends to build 35 ships in the class, with the ships presumably built at various shipyards throughout the United States, with the finalized design only needing to be adjusted to each shipbuilder’s specific production procedures. In conjunction with minute adjustments, the U.S Navy and Marine Corps also intends to utilize a common production standard set of maintenance and production equipment, geared towards meeting maintenance and readiness goals.
Going Global
In addition to the selection by the United States, Naval News previously reported Damen’s LST-100 design has also been selected by the Australian Navy for it’s 8 ship Landing Craft Heavy program. The vessel has also been proven beyond the design stage, with a single LST 100 hull, the NNS Kada delivered to the Nigerian Navy in 2021.
Similar to the American selection, the Australian LST 100s will be built in Australia by shipbuilder Austral at the Henderson Shipyards in Western Australia pending the awarding of the final contract. The Australian acquisition comes off of a renewed focus on littoral environments due to an emphasis on denial predicated on deep strike as well as agility in remote conditions. Per the Australian bid, the first vessel is scheduled to start construction in 2026.
