The U.S. Navy Is Ready To Test Its Next-Gen Hovercraft

The U.S. Navy is set to test its next generation transport hovercraft. Designed to ferry Marine Corps vehicles, supplies, and other equipment to shore in a hurry, the Ship to Shore Connector (SSC) will replace older Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC) hovercraft. SSCs can travel at speeds of 35 knots while carrying M1A1 Abrams tanks.

In the early 1950s, after the invention of the atom bomb, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps planners came to a grim conclusion: the amphibious warfare tactics that were so successful during World War II had now been upended. A single nuclear weapon could easily wipe out an entire invasion fleet. Fleets would have to operate dispersed over a greater geographical area with vehicles that shuttle troops and equipment from ship to shore moving faster to make up the difference.