The LAW ships, clearly, would play a significant role in these kinds of operations and would be sized to accommodate these smaller Marine units, delivering them rapidly between smaller islands, or wherever else they were required. If all goes to plan, the first example of these new warships would be procured in Fiscal Year 2023, and the FY2022 budget requests $13.2 million in research and development funding for the program. Under the LAW program, the Navy plans to buy a class of between 24 and 35 new amphibious ships to support the Marine Corps, particularly in implementing the new EABO operational concept. As such, a LAW contract could be particularly important for the company.

There are only four more Independences under construction or on order and three additional Spearheads being built or otherwise in pipeline, with no clear plans for the Navy to buy more of either type. Navy's Independence class Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) and Spearhead class expeditionary fast transports.

military, being the manufacturer of the U.S. ArmyвЂ™s LSVs and the Bacolod City class for the Philippines.ДЄustal USA has its own history supplying vessels to the U.S. The last of those companies was notably responsible for building the U.S. The other companies involved in the concept design phase are Fincantieri, Bollinger, TAI Engineers, and VT Halter Marine. The Navy has so far issued concept design contracts to five companies, including Austal USA, and plans to release a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the detail design and construction contract in the second quarter of FY2022. Other countries, including Russia and China, continue to operate LST-type ships of various sizes. However, it decommissioned that last of those vessels, the members of the Newport class, which were substantially larger than what the Marines are interested in from the LAW, in the 1990s. Navy had operated Landing Ship Tank (LST) type ships for decades, which had front-opening bows and were capable of coming right up the beach. Specific details of how EABO is expected to work have been examined by The War Zone in the past, here and here.

Together with the Navy and other forces, the idea is to deny sea control to enemy forces. It calls for the Marine Corps to have reinforced platoon-sized units that are able to maneuver around the theater, hopping from island to island, and also taking on non-traditional tasks such as launching anti-ship missiles and conducting anti-submarine warfare.

The EABO concept has been geared around potential future conflict scenarios with China in the Western Pacific. вЂњLAW, whether operating in groups or on independent deployments, is key to implementing a new Marine Corps operational concept called Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO),вЂќ Austal added. вЂњLAW is to be a low signature, beaching, shore-to-shore vessel with intra-theater endurance capable of operating independently or in collaboration with other surface ships, other LAWs, joint task forces, or coalition forces in contested environments in support of Distributed Maritime Operations, Littoral Operations in a Contested Environment/Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations across the competition-conflict spectrum,вЂќ the service adds.

Flying warship warship craft