Textron to build more SSC hovercraft
US Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded Textron a $386.28 million contract modification to build 15 more Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC) hovercraft.
Work will be completed by January 2025 at sites in Louisiana (80%), New Jersey (8%), Ohio (8%) and Gloucester in the UK (4%).
The SSC has a top speed of 35kt and a service life of 30 years. It will replace the existing fleet of USN Landing Craft Air Cushion hovercraft, to ‘land surface assault elements in support of operational manoeuvre from the sea at over-the-horizon distances while operating from amphibious ships and mobile landing platforms’, the US DoD announced on 16 April.
Textron Systems announced on 9 March the delivery of its first SSC craft to the USN.
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