US Army seeks new watercraft to beef up Indo-Pacific capability

WASHINGTON — For the first time in decades, the Army is pursuing a new watercraft effort in a bid to prepare for operations in the Indo-Pacific theater.

“With renewed focus on the Indo-[Pacific Command Area of Operations] and the Army’s responsibilities in terms of logistics resupply, it has led to a renewed emphasis on the Army watercraft fleet,” Brig. Gen. Luke Peterson, program executive officer for combat support and combat service support, told Defense News in an interview just ahead of the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference.

The Army has not embarked on a new watercraft program since the mid-1990s, Peterson said, so “it is a pivotal time for Army watercraft.”

The service hit an important milestone on Oct. 10, when the service put its first new prototype of the Maneuver Support Vessel (Light) into the water in Portland, Oregon.

The service and manufacturer Vigor slowly walked the vessel from the manufacturing facility on dollies and worked with the Army Corps of Engineers to raise the water level so the vessel could go into an inlet to access the Columbia River.

The Army will begin testing the capability once it takes formal delivery of the vessel in February.

In 2017, the service awarded a $980 million contract to Vigor to build the new Army landing craft.

The plan is to ultimately procure 13 of the MSV(L)s, but the Army is reevaluating its delivery schedule due to supply chain challenges Vigor encountered when a vendor went into bankruptcy. Following court proceedings, the company was able to bring in a new vendor to finish up the work.

“We’re getting the program back on track, while at the same time we are evaluating the path forward,” Peterson said.

Meanwhile the Army is continuing to perform a service life extension program on its Landing Craft Utility vessels, or LCUs, used to transport equipment and troops to shore.

The service is also performing a SLEP on its Modular Causeway Systems, a bridging capability connecting a ship and a dock, and has modernized an integrated bridge system, which is now undergoing tests.

The Army is also partnered with Combined Arms Support Command and the chief of transportation on the Maneuver Support Vessel (Heavy) requirement, “which is currently in requirements and framing analysis,” Peterson said. “They are assessing what kind of capabilities a larger class vessel over the Maneuver Support Vessel (Light) may require.”

The Army is nearing completion of the draft abbreviated capabilities development, he added.

Watercraft has been integral for the service in the Pacific, Gen. Charles Flynn, U.S. Army Pacific Command commander, told Defense News in an interview at AUSA, and the new watercraft will provide greater capability.

The Army, a number of years ago, “rightfully” made an important decision to reposition watercraft out of the Middle East and into the Pacific, “so that has given us a little more capacity in the region to do it.”

Flynn said the Army has used watercraft in recent exercises like Operation Pathways to move equipment and has even delivered Patriot air and missile defense systems and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems to ranges with it.

Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.

华盛顿——几十年来，美国陆军首次启动新的水上舰艇项目，以期为在印太地区的作战行动做好准备。

“随着对印太战区和陆军在后勤补给方面的责任的重新关注，陆军水上舰艇舰队也得到了重新重视，”美国陆军作战支援和作战勤务支援项目执行官卢克·彼得森准将在接受《防务新闻》采访时表示，采访正值美国陆军协会年会召开前夕。

彼得森说，自 20 世纪 90 年代中期以来，陆军就没有启动过新的水上交通工具项目，因此“现在是陆军水上交通工具发展的关键时期”。

10 月 10 日，该部门迎来了一个重要的里程碑，其首艘新型机动支援船（轻型）原型船在俄勒冈州波特兰下水。

服务和制造商 Vigor 用小车将船只从制造厂慢慢运出，并与美国陆军工程兵团合作，抬高水位，以便船只能够进入一个入海口，进入哥伦比亚河。

陆军将在二月份正式接收该舰艇后开始测试其性能。

2017 年，美国陆军授予 Vigor 公司一份价值 9.8 亿美元的合同，用于建造新型陆军登陆艇。

最终计划采购13辆MSV(L)型自行高炮，但由于Vigor公司在一家供应商破产后遭遇供应链挑战，陆军正在重新评估交付计划。经过法院程序，该公司最终找到了一家新的供应商来完成剩余工作。

“我们正在让项目重回正轨，同时也在评估未来的发展方向，”彼得森说。

与此同时，陆军正在继续对其登陆艇（LCU）进行使用寿命延长计划，这些登陆艇用于将装备和部队运送到岸上。

该部门还在对其模块化堤道系统（一种连接船舶和码头的桥梁设施）进行SLEP（船舶、码头和码头的桥梁设施）的升级改造，并对集成桥梁系统进行了现代化改造，该系统目前正在进行测试。

陆军还与联合兵种支援司令部和运输部长合作，共同推进重型机动支援舰的需求，“目前正处于需求分析和框架分析阶段，”彼得森说。“他们正在评估比轻型机动支援舰更大的舰艇可能需要哪些能力。”

他补充说，陆军即将完成简化能力发展草案的制定。

美国陆军太平洋司令部司令查尔斯·弗林将军在AUSA大会上接受《防务新闻》采访时表示，水上舰艇一直是太平洋地区军队不可或缺的一部分，而新型水上舰艇将提供更强大的作战能力。

多年前，陆军“理所当然地”做出了一个重要决定，将水上舰艇从中东调往太平洋，“这使得我们在该地区拥有了更大的能力来执行这项任务”。

弗林表示，陆军在最近的演习中，例如“路径行动”，使用水上交通工具运送装备，甚至用它向靶场运送了“爱国者”防空导弹系统和高机动性火箭炮系统。

珍·贾德森是一位屡获殊荣的记者，为《防务新闻》报道陆地战争。她也曾为《政治报》和《内幕防务》工作。她拥有波士顿大学新闻学硕士学位和凯尼恩学院文学学士学位。