Bollinger Awarded Contract for First Navy Landing Ship Medium

U.S. Army LSV-1 departs the Trident Pier after delivering humanitarian aid, June 21, 2024, off the coast of Gaza. US Navy Photo

WASHINGTON - September 29, 2025 - Gulf Coast-based Bollinger Shipyards won a $9.5 million contract to build the first Landing Ship Medium, according to a Defense Department announcement.

The contract, issued late Friday, is for advanced procurement funding so the shipyard can buy long lead items for Block I of the McClung-class ships for the U.S. Marine Corps.

Bollinger is slated to finish the work in two years, by the end of Fiscal Year 2027, according to the contract announcement.

“Bollinger is grateful for the Navy’s continued confidence in our shipbuilding expertise,” said Ben Bordelon, Bollinger Shipyards chief executive officer, in a statement. “This investment in next-generation landing ships underscores the importance of readiness and strategic mobility in today’s evolving defense landscape.

”“We’re proud to support the Navy’s mission and remain committed to delivering platforms that meet the demands of tomorrow’s fight,” he added.

The award comes after the Navy shifted gears to pursue an off-the-shelf design for the LSM. Earlier this year, the service issued Bollinger a pre-solicitation for the LSM so the yard could pursue a platform based on the Israeli Logistics Support Vessel that it built at its Mississippi yard, formerly VT Halter Marine.

LST-100 rendering. Damen ImageThe program, meant to shuttle Marines between islands and shorelines in the Pacific as part of the service’s island-hopping strategy, stalled last year due to rising costs. The Navy cancelled the request for proposals at the end of 2024 after receiving bids with too high of a price, USNI News reported at the time.

The Navy and Marine Corps then began to pursue an LSM Block I platform based on an off-the-shelf design. The Israeli LSV is a variant of the U.S. Army’s Frank S. Besson 4,200-ton landing ship.

Naval Sea Systems Command sought to acquire the data package for Damen’s LST-100 tank landing ship. The tank landing ship was designed by the Dutch shipbuilder as an easily exportable landing ship that displaces 4,000 tons with a range of more than 4,000 nautical miles.

The program has faced requirements churn and the Navy and Marine Corps have disagreed on how to proceed with the platform, which is key to the Marines’ strategy to counter China in the Western Pacific.

The Navy’s most recent requirements call for the service to purchase between 18 and 35 LSMs to support the new Marine Corps Littoral Regiments.

Source:  USNI