Textron Systems will construct additional Landing Craft Air Cushion 100-class (LCAC 100) ships as part of a contract with the US Navy.
With an estimated completion date of 2031, the $353.9 million change contract includes the creation and delivery of three hovercraft.
It expands on a main order for up to 73 ships to replace the military’s aging LCACs, which have been in use since the 1980s, that was signed in August 2023. With a combined output of 28,000 horsepower, each boat is equipped with grenade launchers, machine guns, and mounted naval guns, and it is driven by four Rolls-Royce MT7 gas turbines, which are an improved version of the Bell V-22 Osprey vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
The LCAC is 92 feet (28 meters) long and can reach a top speed of 35 knots (65 kilometers/40 miles per hour) and a range of about 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers/230 miles).
