The Navy and Marine Corps’ strategies of distributed maritime operations and distributed lethality, and Force Design 2030, have created the Light Amphibious Warship (LAW) concept. The LAW can transport around 75 Marines (three platoons) and their embarked vehicles on a stern landing ship at around 13 knots with a range from 2,000 to 3,500 nautical miles in an effort to distribute the Marines around the Indo-Pacific region and always be “on watch” with prepositioned vehicles.

Marine Commandant General David H. Berger believes that spreading the amphibious landing force into smaller, more mobile forces is the best way to counter the growing peer-nation threat and ensure survivability by having groups of dispersed Marines attack (and survive) against a superior entrenched force. This style of maritime “guerilla warfare” is nothing new and has been practiced for centuries and generations. The LAW plays a pivotal role in this concept, and to fund it, the Marne Corps has divested itself of all 67-plus ton M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks, giving the M1A1s to the U.S. Army in favor of lighter, more mobile (wheeled) vehicles such as the joint light tactical vehicle (JLTV) and amphibious combat vehicle (ACV). This has caused controversy because of the absence of the M1A1’s 120-mm tank cannon firepower and heavy armor.

The LAW remains the “Number One Build Priority” for the Navy and Marine Corps.

If LAWs are Sailing, LAW Protection is Needed

The idea of having Marines sailing in the Pacific Ocean on board self-sustaining LAWs, potentially armed with a single MK 38 MOD 3 25-mm autocannon at the bow, and various machine guns on mounts for self-defense, is a novel concept.

The main issue stems from the lack of self-protection armament as LAW’s guns cannot challenge anything that resembles an armed combat warship or a patrol boat, and thus the are susceptible to foreign ship eavesdropping, tracking and shadowing, pirating and hijacking, harassment, ramming, and aerial flyovers. As the graphic shows, the LAW just has one side-mounted rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB) for deployment.

The Marines and Navy made no mention as to who and what will ride “shotgun” and “armed protector” to the LAWs envisioned to sail alone in the Pacific. The FFG(X) Constellation-class frigate can provide protection, but the FFG(X) will not be delivered until around July 2026. Assigning an Arleigh Burke destroyer as escort might be an expensive overkill.

Thus, this author believes three new weapon systems should be fielded to assist and protect the LAWs and also enhance naval and Marine firepower. They are the:

• Swiftships 75m Corvette
• Swiftships 45m Fast Patrol Boat
• MD Helicopters MD969 Twin Attack Helicopter

This article isn’t to endorse these companies or their products, but these products seem to be ideal solutions for the requirements for LAW protection and Marine Corps’ force multiplication, dispersion, enhanced lethality, and power projection. Other options that match these crafts’ performance and specification should be welcomed and studied by the Department of Defense. 

The (Swiftships) 75m Corvette

An artist’s rendering of the Swiftship’s 75m Corvette. Note that the armament has been rearranged compared to the 75m brochures and videos shown on the Swiftships’ website. (Swiftships)

The Swiftships’ 75m Corvette has generally the same (or better) armament as the upgraded Littoral Combat Ship (LCS):

75m Corvette Armament:

• Main gun: 76 mm (OTO) (compared to the LCS’s 57mm)
• Secondary guns: 30 mm (2)
• SSM: Harpoon or Naval Strike Missiles
• SAM: RAM II (or replace with VLS cells or ESSM above-deck)
• Decoy launcher
• Mk 93 50 cal. (2) mounts w/ MK16 tripods
• Hull-mounted sonar (optional, but recommended)
• Slim Line Towed Array (optional, but recommended)
• Surface Vessel Torpedo Tube (optional, but recommended)

75m Corvette Sensors:

• 3D Air Search Radar
• (Surface Search Radar recommended)
• ESM
• E/O Director
• IRST
• Data Link (software)

Furthermore, unlike similar missile corvettes, Swiftships’ 75m Corvette can sail at 30 knots, has a range of 4,000 nautical miles, and most important, can stay at sea for 25 days (whereas some similar-sized Corvettes and missile boats have an endurance of only a week).

The 75m Corvette provides the antisurface, (limited) antiair (depending on SAM launchers installed), and antisubmarine protection via a MH-60 helicopter (and, if installed, sonar, torpedoes, and towed array). Three RHIBs also are carried.

In peacetime, the 75m Corvette can conduct sentry watch, ASW patrol patterns, LAW zone enforcement, search and rescue, visual board search and seizure, antimissile defense, medical care, foreign training missions, and replenishment and liaison with the LAWs via helicopter and RHIBs. Assigned specifically for LAW protection, the 75m Corvette will add to the Navy’s Ship Count and free up the LCSs and Constellation frigate for more important duties.

An artist’s rendering of the Swiftships’ 75m Corvette minus key armament features. A MH-60 can be embarked in addition to two RHIBs deployed from the stern and one RHIB deployed over the side, offering LAW Marines more distance transport options. (Swiftships)

The 75m Corvette can also aid the U.S. Coast Guard’s large cutters and small patrol boats by providing superior armed assistance and resources that those cutters lack.

An artist’s rendering of the Swiftship’s 75m Corvette missing key design features such as the twin 30mm cannons, Anti-Ship missiles, and the RAM missile launcher. (Swiftships)

Is the Swiftships’™ 75m Corvette the only option? No, Finland’s Squadron 2020 Project Corvette offers a more potent corvette with a weapons balance that exceeds the LCS’s if the U.S. Navy decides to acquire a foreign-designed corvette compared to one domestically designed and produced. Finland’s Squadron 2020 Project Corvette has internal VLS SAM cells, antiship missiles, torpedo tubes, air- and surface-search radars, sea-mine dispensers, towed array, CIC, sonar and towed array, a main gun, communications and eavesdropping equipment, and chaff dispensers. However, the Finnish Squadron 2020 Project Corvette is so well armed that it may be classified as a mini-frigate and thus might see duties outside of being just the LAW’s protector, and instead sail with the main fleet. This article argues that the LAWs should have their own dedicated escorting corvettes for protection at all times, and not ships “loaned” or “detached” from the main fleet.

Finland’s Squadron 2020 Project Corvette offers a more balanced weapons load for ASuW, ASW, and AAW in addition to sea mines and electronic eavesdropping. (Squadron 2020)

The (Swiftships) 45m Fast Attack Boat

An artist’s rendering of a Swiftships 45m Fast Attack Boat showing the 30mm cannons front and midships and the RHIB on the stern. Four machine guns are installed in addition to sensors and chaff. The 45m can act as the close-in defense protector for Marine LAWs. (Swiftships)

The Swiftships’™ 45m Fast Attack Boat (FAB) is another new weapons system that should be assigned for LAW protection, in addition to enhancing the Marine Corps and Navy fleet inventory and small fast boat firepower.

Heavily armed for its small size, the 45m Fast Attack Boat is pure offensive firepower and was selected because its performance and armament are very impressive. With 25-mm or 30-mm cannons in the bow and aft of the bridge or on the stern, machine gun mounts, and the option of Hellfire or Griffin small guided missiles installed, the 45m has about the same armament as the Navy’s aging patrol coastals. The FAB has a low draft of six foot, six inch (1.98 m), a top speed of 40 knots powered via four waterjets, and a range of 1,500 nautical miles (2,778 km). Endurance is unknown, but it does have a crew of 30 with 7 officers and a 25-year life cycle. Stinger SHORAD mounts should be installed as well. A RHIB can be mounted in the stern, and still retain the 25-mm cannon aft of the bridge.

The Swiftships’ FAB may not be the only boat option available (the Mark VI is another contender, but only 12 Mark VIs have been built to date), but a FAB should be acquired to give the LAWs some fast surface close-in fighting protection if a Navy corvette or frigate is not close.

If future budgets become tight, the Navy should build the 75m Corvette as second priority and use the 75m Corvettes’ three RHIBs and Coast Guard small boats and fast attack cutters for close-in protection.

The MD969 Twin Attack Helicopter with Weapons Plank

Perhaps the most important future weapon system that the U.S. Navy and USMC should field is the MD Helicopter’s™ MD969 Twin Attack Helicopter No-Tail-Rotor (NOTAR) because this multirole helicopter can fulfill many duties in a small compact airframe.

The Marien Corps has a finite number of AH-1Z “Zulu” gunships and UH-1Y “Yankee” utility helicopters that, chances are, these helicopters are already assigned to the large amphibious deck vessels (LHA and LHD) and thus won’t be assigned and embarked on the smaller LAWs.

The LAW should have its own assigned self-protecting small gunship to remedy its lack of defensive armament and countermeasures, and to prosecute missions at a distance. The nimble 130–140 knot (depending on load configuration) MD969 Twin Attack Helicopter with its 400-plus nautical mile range/600-plus km is ideal for this role with twin engines, interior cabin space, FLIR sensor ball, glass instrument panel, and a six-station weapons plank.

When assigned to the LAW, M969 helicopter duties would include:

• Protection of the embarked LAW and accompanying LAWs
• Troop transport of up to eight Marines
• Distance missions outside the LAW’s RHIB speed and range
• Visual board, search, and seizure operations with external hoist
• Close air support for marines ashore
• Quick reaction force transport and fire support provider
• Over-the-horizon sensor and communications datalink platform
• Air-defense platform when outfitted with Stinger SHORADs
• Armed gunship for sentry and patrols
• Inspection and identification of foreign ships
• Recon (nighttime) scout using FLIR ball
• Drone command and support platform
• Command-and-control platform
• Sniper platform
• ASW using the seven internal tubes that can be modified to drop sonobouys
• Anti-tank/Anti-speedboat attack helicopter
• Medical evacuation
• Stealthy special operations
• Logistics
• Supporting roles to carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups

Three New Weapons Systems Would be Ideal (If Budget Constrained, Build and Field Two)

To protect the lives of the Marines aboard the LAWs, the Navy and Marine Corps should consider acquiring, building, and fielding a own self-protective force of small combat ships and armed gunships to increase the potency of the LAW and combat adversaries through distributed lethality. These three weapons systems, when assigned to the LAW, will free up the LCSs, FFG(X) frigates, and destroyers for other duties in the Indo-Pacific region and prevent harassment of the poorly armed LAWs as they sail the world’s oceans.

(Top) Seven ATGM tubes can be mounted internally or eight seats (below). (MD Helicopters)

Head-on view of the MD969 with two Hellfire ATGMs and a 12-shot (unguided or guided) rocket pod is mounted on the MD969’s left plank and a .50-cal machine gun pod and seven-shot rocket pod is mounted on the right. Eight Marines can ride inside in addition to the two pilots. The FLIR sensor ball is visible under the nose. The M969 would make a great light gunship for the LAWs. (MD Helicopters)