US Navy to order four Ship-to-Shore Connector hovercraft annually through 2031.

The U.S. Navy will continue buying four Ship-to-Shore Connector hovercraft annually through 2031, according to its FY2027 shipbuilding plan released on May 8, 2026, preserving the only active large military hovercraft production line in the United States while extending deliveries through 2036. The sustained procurement profile reinforces the Navy and Marine Corps’ ability to move heavy armor, troops, and logistics across contested littorals without relying on ports or fixed infrastructure, a capability increasingly tied to distributed expeditionary warfare concepts in the Indo-Pacific.

The LCAC 100-class SSC can carry 74 tons, including Abrams tanks and heavier Marine Corps vehicles, while operating above 35 knots across shallow coastal terrain, mud flats, and undeveloped shorelines where conventional landing craft face restrictions. Although rising unit costs now approach those of some lower-end combat ships, the Navy continues to treat the hovercraft as a critical tactical connector for Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations, sustainment missions, and rapid intra-theater maneuver while maintaining compatibility across the existing amphibious fleet.

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The Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC) is a high-speed, amphibious tactical lift vehicle that transports heavy Marine Corps combat equipment and personnel across mud flats, shallow waters, and beaches independent of fixed port infrastructure. (Picture source: Textron Systems)

On May 8, 2026, the U.S. Navy confirmed in its FY2027 thirty-year shipbuilding plan that procurement of the Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC) hovercraft will continue at four craft annually from FY2027 through FY2031, sustaining uninterrupted serial production for at least another decade and extending deliveries through September 2036. The FY2027 Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy request released on April 21, 2026, allocates $733.895 million for the procurement of four LCAC 100-class craft and raises cumulative program obligation authority above $10.5 billion.

Current acquisition planning sets the total objective at 72 operational SSCs plus one test and training vehicle, replacing legacy LCAC hovercraft introduced between 1984 and 2001, many of which remained operational only after Service Life Extension Programs expanded design life from 20 to 30 years. Program management remains under NAVSEA PMS 317 Amphibious Assault and Connectors Program Office, while all production continues at Textron Systems in Slidell, Louisiana, currently the only U.S. facility manufacturing large military hovercraft. 

The FY2027 budget request preserves one of the most stable procurement profiles inside the Navy’s amphibious portfolio, with four SSCs programmed annually in FY27, FY28, FY29, FY30, and FY31, and yearly procurement values remaining concentrated between $733.059 million and $733.268 million. Earlier procurement included three SSCs financed in FY25 for $480 million, followed by two hovercraft funded through FY26 discretionary appropriations worth $320 million and one additional craft financed through reconciliation appropriations at $239.095 million.

The acquisition strategy indicates that the Navy is prioritizing industrial continuity and supplier stability over accelerated procurement rates, despite earlier Textron statements indicating theoretical annual output could reach twelve craft if fully funded. Current production cycles average 39 months between construction start and delivery, requiring long-term synchronization of propulsion manufacturing, composite fabrication, gearbox integration, and skirt production across multiple industrial suppliers. The procurement sequence now extends continuously from LCAC 100 through LCAC 158, creating a production timeline spanning more than fifteen years. 

The Navy’s current production schedule identifies LCAC 116 for delivery in April 2026, LCAC 122 in September 2027, LCAC 132 in March 2030, LCAC 142 in September 2032, and LCAC 158 in September 2036. FY2027 procurement specifically finances LCAC 139 through LCAC 142, all scheduled for contract award in March 2027, with construction starts beginning between September 2028 and June 2029. Earlier serial production contracts were awarded during April 2020, November 2024, June 2025, and September 2026, producing overlapping construction lots intended to prevent disruptions inside the hovercraft manufacturing base.

By FY2025, between thirteen and fifteen SSCs had already been delivered or formally accepted by the U.S. Navy, including LCAC 112 delivered during March 2025 and LCAC 114 delivered later the same year. Initial Operational Capability was declared in July 2023 after assignment of LCAC 107 to Assault Craft Unit 4 at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Virginia following completion of post-delivery testing, well-deck interface evaluations, and operational certification activities. Program cost growth has become one of the most significant characteristics of the SSC acquisition profile.

The FY2027 procurement places gross unit cost at $183.474 million per craft compared with $160 million during FY25 procurement, $146 million during FY24 equivalent procurement, and $65 million during FY20 single-craft acquisition. The FY2027 allocation includes $537.058 million for basic construction, $117.089 million for Hull, Mechanical, and Electrical (HM&E) systems, $17.595 million for electronics integration, $16.112 million for change orders, and $46.041 million categorized as additional program costs. HM&E expenditures remain dominated by the procurement of Rolls-Royce MT7 marine gas turbine engines, composite propulsion structures, and skirt assemblies.

As each SSC requires four MT7 engines, the FY2027 procurement will therefore finance the acquisition of sixteen engines. The MT7 derives directly from the V-22 Osprey’s T406 and AE1107 propulsion core, creating logistical commonality between amphibious aviation and connector propulsion support chains. The resulting SSC unit cost now approaches procurement ranges historically associated with some lower-end surface combatants, despite the hovercraft remaining a tactical sealift connector rather than a combat ship.

The Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC), also known as the LCAC 100 class, preserves the dimensions and well-deck compatibility of the legacy Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) fleet while incorporating substantial engineering modifications intended to improve reliability, payload margin, and lifecycle maintenance performance. Navy specifications identify an overall length of 91.8 feet, beam of 48.3 feet, displacement of 180.57 metric tons, and payload capacity of 74 tons, sufficient for the transport of Abrams tanks and heavier Marine Corps vehicles that increasingly exceeded operational margins on older LCACs.

Operational transport configurations support the movement of 145 combat-equipped Marines, casualty evacuation missions, and heavy cargo transfers between amphibious ships and shore objectives. The hovercraft incorporates fly-by-wire integrated controls, corrosion-resistant aluminum construction, composite propulsor assemblies, redesigned skirt geometry, and four Rolls-Royce MT7 gas turbines replacing earlier propulsion configurations used on the original LCAC fleet. Planned operational lifespan remains fixed at thirty years, matching the service-life objective previously achieved through LCAC SLEP modernization efforts applied to legacy hovercraft.

Industrial considerations remain central to the acquisition strategy because the SSC program supports several manufacturing sectors with limited or nonexistent alternative demand elsewhere inside the U.S. defense-industrial base. In addition to final assembly operations at Textron Systems, the program sustains domestic production capacity for marine gas turbines, hovercraft skirt fabrication, aluminum amphibious craft manufacturing, and large composite propulsion structures. Early developmental phases experienced gearbox reliability failures, blade micro-cracking, and integration delays during testing activities, contributing to schedule disruption and procurement cost escalation during low-rate initial production.

Those issues were progressively corrected before the IOC declaration during 2023, allowing the Navy to stabilize deliveries at four hovercraft annually rather than continue irregular procurement patterns. Current planning indicates that the Navy views preservation of this industrial capacity as strategically necessary because no parallel military hovercraft production infrastructure currently exists elsewhere inside the United States. The SSC remains integrated with broader amphibious recapitalization efforts, including LHA replacement, LPD Flight II, Medium Landing Ship, LCU 1700, and the remaining LCAC Service Life Extension Program inventory as the Navy restructures its expeditionary logistics and littoral maneuver capabilities.

The hovercraft remains fully compatible with existing LHD, LHA, LSD, and LPD well-deck ships without requiring major structural modifications to the current amphibious fleet architecture. Operational speeds exceed 35 knots under operational sea states, while the air-cushion configuration permits movement across mud flats, marsh terrain, shallow littorals, and undeveloped coastlines without dependence on ports, dredged channels, or fixed infrastructure. Current Navy planning, therefore, increasingly treats the SSC as a distributed logistics connector supporting Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations, tactical sustainment, and intra-theater maneuver rather than exclusively a first-wave amphibious assault vehicle.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.