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Navy/USMC

Lead Landing Ship Medium Contract Award Planned For Mid-2026

By Matthew Beinart

Wednesday, January 14th, 2026

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Lead Landing Ship Medium Contract Award Planned For Mid-2026

Graphic model of the Damen Naval LST-100 landing ship transport 4,000 ton ship the Navy picked to become the new Medium Landing Ship (LSM) Block One. (Image: Damen)

A contract award to build the lead Landing Ship Medium (LSM) is expected in mid-2026, a senior Marine Corps official said Tuesday. Brig. Gen. Lee Meyer, the Marine Corps’ director of expeditionary warfare, provided the update following the Navy and Marine Corps’ decision to move forward with Dutch firm Damen’s LST-100 design. “We’re pursuing an innovative acquisition strategy…leveraging the FY ‘25 NDAA authority on a non-developmental ship design [with] shortened acquisition timelines. We will deliver this urgently needed capability to…

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