US Army to receive first MSV(L)
US soldiers assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade execute a littoral rapid infiltration operation transporting High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems using a Maneuver Support Vessel (Light). (8th Theater Sustainment Command)
The first production ready vessel of the Maneuver Support Vessel Light (MSV(L)) programme will be delivered to the US Army in the following months, manufacturer Vigor Marine Group announced on 11 August.
The army will accept the vessel in the boreal fall after testing, according to an 11 August press release. Currently, there are three more vessels under construction, Vigor Marine Group Mark Norris, vice president of marine fabrication, announced at an 11 August ceremony in Vancouver, Washington.
The vessel will enable commanders to transport important equipment through austere and degraded ports and remote beaches, Christopher Upton, transportation systems project manager for the US Army, said during the ceremony. “When fully funded”, the programme will support the army for “decades”, he said.
Sustainment for the Landing Craft Mechanized-8 (LCM-8) class of vessels, which the MSV(L) is replacing, and other watercraft has been slow in recent years. This caused readiness to fall to less than 40% in 2024, according to a Government Accountability Office report at the time.
That readiness rate rose to about 40% in 2025, Brigadier General Beth Behn, commanding officer of Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM), told Janes in October 2025.
If the money is not appropriated in fiscal year (FY) 2027, the programme will “likely” enter a production halt, according to army budget request documents published in April 2026. That could lead to higher unit costs.
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