Navy pulls plug on Landing Ship Medium

[Zaphod58]

The Navy thought they had a bulletproof cost estimate, design, and independent cost analysis in the Landing Ship Medium, but when they got the proposals from the RFP, price points were significantly higher than expected resulting in them pulling the plug on the program. The LSM was supposed to carry a crew of 70 up to 3500 nautical miles at up to 14 knots, with up to 75 Marines on board. It would have a single point load/unload ramp on the bow, with an 8,000 sq foot cargo area capable of carrying 648 Standard Tons of cargo, as well as a deck mounted crane capable of lifting 13 Standard Tons at a time.

Naval Sea Systems Command has released the draft notice to industry to build a fleet of new landing ships for the Navy and Marine Corps.
The Landing Ship Medium (LSM) is billed as the “affordable shore-to-shore USMC maneuver capability,” according to a summary of the program reviewed by USNI News. The class of 18 to 35 LSMs – formerly known as the light amphibious warship – will ferry elements of the three Marine Littoral Regiments between isolated islands, reefs and atolls as part service’s shift to its modern campaign of island hopping.
The basic requirements were finalized earlier this year, Naval Sea Systems Command told USNI News.
Requirements for the ship call for an LSM capable of carrying at least 75 Marines, hauling 600 tons of equipment, and having an 8,000 square foot cargo area, a NAVSEA spokesperson told USNI News last week.

https://news.usni.org/2024/12/17/landing...dustry-rfp