RIVISTA ITALIANA DIFESA
USMC and US Navy close to an agreement regarding the LAWs 18/10/2022 | Fabio Di Felice

The US Navy and Marine Corps are working to balance their requirements in order to reach a final decision early next year and keep the Light Amphibious Warship (LAW) program on track for its planned Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 start of construction. The final rush is on finding a rendez vous point between the Corps’ focus on affordability (and numbers) with the Navy’s push for survivability (quality over quantity). Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl, the USMC Deputy Commandant for combat development and integration, reported to some defense media that the two services are moving forward, overcoming their initial disagreement about the new platform. The LAW program starting positions saw the Marine Corps interested on containing the costs in order to reach the objective on having 35 ships, while the Navy, which would keep in service the ship, did like to respect some survivability requirements in terms of weapon systems and sensors, tripling the initial cost of $120-130 million, and planning to buy just 18 LAWs. The Marines would like to have a platform inspired on commercial vessel, in order to be cheap, easy to mantain and repair, and also easy to hide, expecially in a jammed maritime battlespace, and relative crowded sea lines-of communication, as the Indo-Pacific one. These uncommon features for an amphibious vessel are related to the USMC vision to not use this vessel during combat operations or at least not in the middle of a kinetic fight. However, this position could be considered fragile nothing that, in accordance with the last Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) doctrine and the “Stand-in” concept, the LAWs may operate in the enemy Weapons Engagement Zone (WEZ), and so under the threat of “effects” provoked by enemy weapon systems. After several meetings between the USMC and the Navy’s Program Executive Office for Ships, it looks like they both agreed to be close to an agreement. Five companies are working on preliminary designs following a June 2021 contract award, and the Navy-Marine team will be ready to review those designs in January. In the meantime, MARFORPAC and its 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment in Hawaii, will soon begin experimenting TTPs and SOPs using leased stern landing vessel, expeditionary fast transport vessels or littoral combat ships, in order to be ready when “their” new LAWs should be delivered, in 2029.

Follow us on Telegram.


Condividi su:  
    
News Forze Armate
COMUNICATI STAMPA AZIENDE