US Navy’s New LXR Assault Ship: A ‘Swiss Army Knife’ on the High Seas?

Kris Osborn

Security,

The new LXR ship will be engineered for a wider mission set than the ship its replacing.

Navy officials and Congressional decision-makers are considering an option to accelerate procurement of a new  multi-mission amphibious assault ship designed  to function in a modern threat environment, conduct a wider range of missions than the ship it is replacing, and help the service increase the lagging number of amphibs in the force, senior officials said.

A Capabilities Development Document for the new ship, called the LXR, has completed a joint-review wherein acquisition professionals examined the new platform and made comments and recommendations.

The document was slated for analysis by a special Pentagon entity called the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, or JROC, Maj. Gen. Christopher Owens, Navy Director of Expeditionary Warfare, told Scout Warrior in an interview a few months ago..  

The Navy plans to build at least 11 LXR ships, with the first one slated to deliver by 2026, Owens said.

The idea for the acceleration would be to repeat and effort from last year's budget to add additional funds to the LXR program and a way to speed up the acquisition of the first ship to a point earlier than 2020, a May 2016 Congressional Research Service report says. 

"In 206, Congress provided $29 million in additional research and development funding and $250 million in additional advance procurement," the Congressional Research Service report said. 

The Congressional report also says beginning construction of the new ship before the current plan would help the amphibious assault ship industrial base achieve stability during a period of reduced construction. 

(This first appeared in Scout Warrior here.)

The new ship will replace the existing fleet of Amphibious Transport Docks, or LSD 41s, which have functioned for years as a support ship in an Amphibious Ready Group, or ARG.  

A lead Amphibious Assault Ship, a Dock Landing Ship, or LSD, and a ship called the San Antonio-class LPD 17 amphibious transport dock are integral to an Amphibious Ready Group, which typically draws upon a handful of platforms to ensure expeditionary warfighting technology.  The ARG is tasked with transporting at least 2,200 Marines and their equipment, including what’s called a Marine Expeditionary Unit, or MEU.