Textron Marine Systems is acquiring long-lead materials needed to start construction of two ship-to-shore connector (SSC) craft, the third and fourth in a program that will deliver 73 vessels to replace the Navy’s landing craft, air-cushion (LCAC) fleet for fast transit of men, materiel, and vehicles from amphibious ships for a wide range of operations ashore.
Captain Chris Mercer, manager of amphibious warfare programs in the Navy’s Program Executive Office for Ships, said the LCACs “enable seabasing.” The currently fielded 60-ton LCACs, which ride on the water’s surface powered by high-performance aircraft engines, have been employed for rapid transfer of combat units and vehicles as heavy as M1A1 tanks to landings for high-intensity combat, crisis-response, and counterinsurgency operations.
The fielded LCACs, which can land on 70 percent of the world’s coastlines, also have been used for noncombatant evacuation, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and joint exercises worldwide. The Navy’s older LCU landing craft, by comparison, can access only about 17 percent of coastlines.
The Navy built two LCAC prototypes in the 1970s; the first operational craft was delivered in 1984. Into the 1990s, Textron built 91 LCACs, designed for a 20-year operational life. The Navy then launched a service-life extension program (SLEP), carried out by Textron, to sustain the craft for an additional ten years. The company has completed the SLEP for 50 craft with work on seven more now under way. A request for proposals has been released for SLEP work for Fiscal Years 2015 and 2016.
Mercer said the SSC design process focused on the top 20 maintenance priorities of the LCAC. The Navy developed a concept design that called for a simplified drive train, composite propeller blades, and a “fly-by-wire” control system, all aimed at building on but dramatically enhancing the capabilities of the fielded LCAC.
In July 2012 Textron won a contract for detailed design and construction of a training craft at its New Orleans East building yard. The Navy’s program requirement currently calls for a total of 72 new operational craft and one trainer-test craft.
Following a production-readiness review in October 2014, Textron commenced construction on the first SSC craft, LCAC-100, which will be designated as the test and training craft, and in January started work on the second SSC, LCAC-101. The two vessels are scheduled for delivery to the Navy in 2017. In March the company received the production options for LCAC-102 and -103. A full-rate production decision is expected in May 2018, and eight production craft will be delivered by 2020.
Bill Kisiah, vice president of Textron Marine Systems, said the SSC will be 91.8 feet long with a 47.8-foot beam. It will be fitted with an advanced 56-inch-deep skirt (the currently fielded LCAC skirt is 50 inches) made from rubberized coated fabric, will displace 181 metric tons, and will carry a 74-ton payload, compared to 60 for the current LCAC.
The SSC hull will be fabricated extensively from corrosion-resistant aluminum provided by Alcoa, and the propeller-shroud assemblies and shafts will boast high-strength composites intended to improve reliability and cut life-cycle maintenance costs.
Kisiah pointsed out that as part of the detailed design effort, Textron invested some $45 million in its New Orleans East production facility.
The SSC will be powered by four Rolls-Royce MT-7 gas-turbine engines, each capable of 7,000-shaft horsepower, the same core engine installed on the Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The engine, controlled by a full-authority digital electronic control system, will drive six-bladed propellers, compared to the four-bladed props on the LCAC. The craft will use two bow thrusters for maneuver control. The SSC will have a range of approximately 86 nautical miles without refueling, at a top speed of more than 35 knots, and will extend beach access worldwide from the current LCAC’s 70 percent to 80 percent. L-3 Corporation provides the craft’s command, control, communications, computer, and navigation system.
The SSC, like the LCAC, will be able to accommodate the M1A1 tank. The craft will be designed to accommodate an enclosed personnel-transport module that can be embarked, as needed, to transport up to 145 combat-equipped Marines or 108 casualty personnel through the surf zone and over the beach. It will be crewed by a pilot and copilot, unlike the LCAC, which requires a third crewman. The SSC also will be fitted out with two gun stanchions that can be armed with .50-caliber machine guns or Mk-19 grenade launchers.