Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii would probably need extensive renovations in order to accommodate the new ships, a fact the Navy noted in a new environmental impact study.

Current plans call for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps to build between 18 and 35 McClung-class landing ship medium (LSM) vessels. Previously known as the Light Amphibious Warship (LAW) program, the LSM will support the Marine Corps’ Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO). The vessels will be smaller and individually much less expensive to procure and operate than the US Navy’s current fleet of amphibious ships.

Nine of the 4,000-ton “shore-to-shore” vessels could be based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickham, Hawaii, “to support the Marine Corps’ area denial and sensing operations across the Pacific,” USNI News wrote. The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR), an elite unit optimized for close-to-shore and expeditionary operations that was activated in March 2022 as a “stand-in force,” is now based in Hawaii.

The basing of the LSMs could alter the facilities considerably, however. In order to accommodate the new vessels, the base would need to install a “concrete roll-on, roll-off (RORO) ramp at West Loch and modifications to existing berthing located at Wharf F12/F13 on Ford Island near the USS Utah memorial” in order to allow for the embarking and offloading of US Marines and their equipment.

A new environmental impact study noted that the proposed new construction could impact the area’s wildlife in the region, as well as the “structural stability of the war grave.” However, even as the US Navy considered seven alternate sites for the project, it was determined that only two were “deemed suitable” for the LSMs—meaning that Pearl Harbor is still likely to end up with them, for better or worse.

About the McClung-Class LSM

• Year Introduced: Not yet introduced
• Number Built: 0 (18 planned; could increase to 35)
• Displacement: Approx. 4,000 tons
• Length: 100 meters (328 ft)
• Beam: 52 feet 6 inches (16 meters)
• Speed: ~15 knots (17 mph, 27.8 km/h)
• Range: ~7,250 nmi (8,343 mi, 13,427 km)
• Aviation: Helicopter/UAS landing pad
• Armament: Planned for 30 mm guns and .50 caliber weapons
• Crew: 50 Marines + over 800 tons of cargo/gear (including vehicles and mobile missile systems)

The new class of amphibious ships is named to honor United States Marine Corps Major Megan M.L. McClung, the first female Marine Corps officer killed in combat during the Iraq War. McClung, who served as a public affairs officer, was killed in a bombing in the city of Ramadi in 2006; she was also the first female graduate of the United States Naval Academy to be killed in the line of duty.

The vessels are based on the Dutch Damen Shipyards Group’s Landing Ship Transport 100 (LST-100), which the Nigerian Navy has adopted.

The LSM was designed to beach itself on unimproved shorelines and to provide cargo capacity for 500 tonnes of military hardware, including armored vehicles. Each can be employed to carry elements of a Marine Littoral Regiment to islands and shorelines in the Indo-Pacific. A stern flight deck is also capable of supporting up to medium-sized helicopters or unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

However, the McClung-class LSMs aren’t meant to replace the US Navy’s fleet of larger amphibious assault ships, but instead will provide intratheater logistics by transporting personnel, equipment, and materiel within a specific combat theater or area of operation. The LSM is meant to bridge the gap between strategic delivery into a region and the final, tactical distribution to forward-deployed forces.

Each of the vessels can deploy troops but also critical, time-sensitive resources—including blood products, vehicle repair parts, and ammunition—within the geographic combatant command’s area of responsibility.

Unlike traditional large-scale Marine Expeditionary Units, the USMC’s MLRs are smaller, highly adaptable units built to operate within an enemy’s weapons engagement zone. Their goal is to conduct reconnaissance, track enemy naval movements, and deny the adversary’s use of strategic islands and chokepoints. The LSM will enable the LSM to remain highly mobile, concealed and lethal, even within an adversary’s missile range.

The units can hop between islands, offload heavy equipment on austere beaches without ports, and then quickly relocate to avoid detection. 

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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