Textron (NYSE: TXT) has received an $84, 087, 095 contract option from the U.S. Navy to build additional landing craft, air cushion vehicles.
The company will produce crafts 102 and 103 at its New Orleans-based shipyard and deliver the vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2019 under the Navy’s Ship-to-Shore Connector program, Textron said Monday.
Tom Walmsley, senior vice president and general manager of Textron Systems Marine &Â Land Systems, said the company intends to enhance the performance of the new craft in fabrication to help reduce ownership costs.
Textron says it will incorporate composite materials into the propeller shroud assembly and shafting and use more corrosion-resistant aluminum in the hull.
Meant to replace the Navy’s existing fleet of LCACs, the SSC vehicles are designed to land surface assault elements.
The Navy will use the vehicles in operational maneuver from the sea, humanitarian missions and disaster relief operations.
