U.S. Navy Receives First Steel LCU 1710 Landing Craft

U.S. shipbuilder Austal USA has delivered the LCU 1710 landing craft to the U.S. Navy.

The company’s press service reported on this.

The boat became the lead vessel in the LCU 1700 series and the first steel ship that the shipyard built and delivered to the U.S. Navy.

The LCU 1710 is 42.4 meters long, 9.4 meters wide, and has a 1.4-meter draft. Its propulsion system consists of two Caterpillar C18 diesel engines rated at 750 hp each, allowing the craft to reach a top speed of 11 knots and providing a range of up to 1,200 nautical miles.

The handover followed the successful completion of acceptance tests, during which the main systems and equipment were verified.

The boat also demonstrated it could set sail without tugboat assistance and operate with a reduced crew of 14.

The craft is designed to transport more than 170 tons of payload, including M1A2 Abrams tanks, or up to 300 paratroopers to an unimproved shore.

The U.S. Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command initiated the LCU 1700 program to replace the aging fleet of LCU 1610, 1627, and 1646, which have been in service since the 1950s–1970s.

In March 2018, the Pentagon awarded Swiftships the first contract to design and build a prototype. However, to expand serial production and accelerate deliveries, the U.S. Navy decided to add capacity and awarded a major contract to Austal USA.

Overall, the U.S. Navy expects to receive a series of several dozen LCU 1700 landing craft, which are set to become the U.S. Navy’s primary heavy transport asset for the upcoming decades.

In parallel with the Navy, the U.S. Army has been pursuing its own landing craft modernization program, the Maneuver Support Vessel (Light), or MSV(L), since 2017. The program is intended to replace the aging LCM-8 boats.

The program includes 36 landing craft, including the first prototype, SSG Elroy F. Wells, laid down in 2019 and launched in 2022.