Ship-to-Shore Connector
Ship-to-Shore Connector
The Ship-to-Shore Connector is the next generation LCAC designed to rapidly move assault forces within the littorals to conduct amphibious operations and operate over a variety of terrains including mud, marshes, and ice. Featuring crucial improvements over the legacy LCACs, the Ship-to-Shore Connectors feature a longer service life, reduced maintenance costs, and increased payload capacity. With the ability to reach more than 70% of the world's coastlines, the SSC provides the mobility needed to operate in the most logistically contested environments.
Textron Systems has currently delivered 11 Ship-to-Shore Connectors to the U.S. Navy with an additional two craft scheduled to be delivered by year-end 2024. The SSC Program is scheduled to reach the IOT&E milestone in 2025, proving full operability within the Fleet. Currently Textron Systems is contracted to deliver through Craft 132, with craft 124 entering production in November 2024.
In recent years, Textron Systems has implemented a variety of new initiatives, resulting in operational improvements. These changes will allow Textron Systems to deliver four craft in 2024, and support a four craft per year delivery schedule moving forward.
The Ship-to-Shore Connector is the only amphibious craft in the Fleet capable of supporting high-speed, heavy-lift and long-range transport capabilities across a wide array of shorelines, covering over 70% of the world's coasts. Supporting both the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, the SSC provides military leaders the operational flexibility to respond to a variety of mission sets with limited time. SSC is a critical piece of the Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations strategy, supporting the U.S. Marine Corps across the globe, notably in the Indo-Pacific region. The SSC is a direct one-for-one replacement for the legacy LCACs, which continue to be utilized well beyond their extended service life. The SSC is designed, built, and tested by a proud team of 700 at the Textron Systems Shipyard in New Orleans, LA, and hundreds more throughout the SSC industrial base.
The Ship-to-Shore Connector was designed to reduce overall life cycle maintenance costs as well as provide significant capability upgrades to support the amphibious mission sets now and for the future. These improvements not only support the warfighter, but also ensure the SSC is ready to support humanitarian efforts across the globe for the U.S. and allied nations
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