US Navy outlines ambitions for new class of beachable Light Amphibious Warship

摘要

The US Navy has outlined its requirements for a new class of beachable Light Amphibious Warship (LAW) intended to provide a manoeuvring and sus-tainment capability in contested littoral areas. A preliminary design effort is expected to start in late Fiscal Year (FY) 2020/early FY 2021, with acquisition scheduled to begin in FY2023. The expectation is that the LAW programme will utilise an existing 'build-to-print' design, or adapt a commercial design, in order to reduce risk and accelerate delivery. The emergence of the LAW requirement reflects the revised concept of operations (CONOPS) promulgated by the US Marine Corps in its 'Force Design 2030' document. Released on 26 March, 'Force Design 2030' outlines a series of sweeping changes to force structure to reconfigure the marine corps for peer competition in the Indo-Pacific region.