The US Navy has awarded $280.5 million in prototyping contracts to Conrad Shipyard, Master Boat Builders and Saronic Technologies as part of its LCU 1700-class landing craft programme. Under the initial funding package, the three Gulf Coast companies will each build two or three prototype vessels while simultaneously refining their manufacturing processes for eventual high-rate production. The initiative is being financed through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and uses federal prototype authorities to expand American shipbuilding capacity, accelerate delivery of littoral vessels and establish multiple production and supply channels. Deliveries from the contracted work are expected to begin in late 2028 and continue through 2029. LCU 1700 Landing CraftThe LCU 1700 is a 139-foot (42-meter) landing craft developed to replace the US Navy’s older 1466, 1610 and 1627-class landing craft, which entered service from the 1990s onward. The newer design provides greater payload capacity, extended range and compatibility with the Navy’s modern amphibious warfare ships. The vessel can transport as much as 150 tons (136,078 kilograms) of cargo. Its capacity includes carrying two M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks or up to 400 personnel. Powered by two 500-horsepower diesel engines, the LCU 1700 can reach 11 knots (13 miles/20 kilometers per hour) and operate over a radius of 1,200 nautical miles (1,380 miles/2,222 kilometers). The craft is equipped with mounted weapons and incorporates modern communications equipment, advanced navigation systems and a combat management system. In August of the previous year, the Navy received its first production LCU 1700, LCU 1710, from Austal USA.
