The U.S. Navy has selected Bollinger Shipyards and Fincantieri Marinette Marine to construct the Marine Corps’ Landing Ship Medium. The announcement marks the first new naval vessel construction under the administration’s effort to reshape military shipbuilding.
Fincantieri Marinette Marine, which had been building the canceled Constellation-class frigate, will now participate in the LSM program alongside Bollinger. The decision follows broader changes to the Navy’s surface ship acquisition plans.
Naval Sea Systems Command has issued a request for proposals for a vessel construction manager to oversee the program. The manager will supervise construction efforts that support the Marine Corps’ island operations strategy in the Pacific.
“For initial production, the Navy will direct the VCM to manage LSM construction at two shipyards: Bollinger Shipyards and Fincantieri Marinette Marine,” the Navy said in a news release. It added that “Bollinger Shipyards was awarded a contract to support LSM long lead time procurement and lead ship engineering design activities in September 2025; Fincantieri will execute LSM work to build four ships.”
“The VCM will then have the ability to decide the best strategy for awarding the remaining three ships authorized under the base contract,” the release states. The solicitation for proposals was issued Tuesday.
The request comes after the Navy revised the program late last year to adopt a Dutch design already in service. The McClung-class Landing Ship Medium will be derived from Damen’s LST-100 design.
In December, Navy Secretary John Phelan announced the program’s shift and said a vessel construction manager would be used for the LSM effort. Several weeks earlier, he canceled the Constellation-class frigate program at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, which had been underway since 2020.
Under the cancellation terms, the shipyard may complete the first two Constellation-class ships, but four planned vessels were terminated. The updated LSM program provides replacement work following those cancellations.
“By providing a mature, ‘build-to-print’ design and empowering a VCM to manage production, we are streamlining oversight for this acquisition,” Rear Adm. Brian Metcalf, program executive officer for ships, said in the release. “This approach accelerates the timeline and strengthens our industrial base, ensuring we have the capacity and expertise needed for sustained maritime advantage.”
The Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, signed in December, authorizes the Navy to use a vessel construction manager for the first eight LSMs as well as for future light replenishment oilers and other auxiliary vessels. The Marine Corps intends for the LSM to transport Marine Littoral Regiments equipped with anti-ship missiles between islands and coastal areas in the Pacific.
The U.S. Maritime Administration previously used a vessel construction manager model to deliver five National Security Multi-Mission Vessels for U.S. maritime academies at what is now Hanwha Philly Shipyard.
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