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Surface Navy 2025: Multiship buy helps ease capacity concerns for amphibious shipbuilding industry

By Michael Fabey |

LHA 8, shown here in a rendering, will be the first US amphibious assault ship with F-35B capability at delivery. (HII)

The recent US Navy (USN) decision to buy a handful of amphibious ships should help bolster a shipbuilding industry that is woefully under capacity, according to industry and USN officials.

The USN is planning to buy a mix of four landing platform docks (LPDs) and an amphibious assault ship (LHA) under an umbrella deal that is meant to save the service money and provide some stability for the industrial base.

“The amphibious warship bundle buy of three LPDs and one LHA will drive a considerable increase in efficiency across the amphibious warship industrial base and includes USD1 billion in potential savings,” the Amphibious Warship Industrial Base Coalition said in a statement as part of its 2024 survey of coalition-member suppliers released immediately for the Surface Navy Association National Symposium 2025 that took place from 14 to 16 January.

The USN confirmed the multiship buy in September 2024 of LPDs 33, 34, and 35 and LHA 10.

According to the coalition survey only 10% of amphibious warship suppliers are operating at full capacity and 65% said the buy will lead to benefits starting as soon as 2025 or 2026.

“With only 10% at full capacity, that means 90% are struggling to fulfil their capacity,” Paul Roden, coalition board chairman, told Janes on 13 January during an interview in advance of the symposium.

“That's not ideal in terms of cost,” he said.

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