THE HAGUE --- The Marine Corps will have new landing craft available from 2025. The current 12 so-called Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel vessels (LCVPs) are approaching the end of their service life in 2024. They will be replaced by 12 vessels for military personnel and 8 for materiel and associated personnel. State Secretary Christophe van der Maat reports this to the House of Representatives today.
The Marines use the LCVPs when they land from large ships during amphibious operations. The way they do this is changing. The marine soldiers have to take more and more account of armed resistance, also at sea. As a result, the large ships remain at a greater distance from the coast.
Compared to the current ones, the new vessels must be faster, cover longer distances and be deployable in rougher seas. In addition, they must offer better protection in bad weather and limit the physical strain on those on board in rough seas. The engines of the new vessels take into account the latest emission requirements.
Availability
The 12 smaller Littoral Assault Craft (LAC) craft for military use are available off-the-shelf. They are then only modified so that they can be hoisted aboard the large naval vessels. The first LACs will be available from 2025.
The eight larger equipment and personnel craft, designated Littoral Craft Mobility (LCM), are not available on the market. The Ministry of Defense wants to work together with the business community on this. As a result, these vessels are expected to become available to the Marines in 2028-2029.
20 units
There are several reasons for increasing the number of landing craft from 12 to 20. The number is partly related to the ongoing replacement of the FRISCs. These are the Navy's fast interceptors. These craft are less suitable for amphibious operations. Defense therefore does not replace all FRISCs. Instead, the Ministry of Defense is buying more landing craft. Furthermore, with the 20 new vessels in an attack wave, a complete squadron of 100 marines with equipment can be brought ashore.
The landing craft project is worth € 100 to 250 million.
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