A class of landing vessels designed by a Dutch firm – first built in the United Arab Emirates and debuted by the Nigerian Navy – will become the mainstay of U.S. Marine Corps and Australian Defense Force amphibious operations across the Indo-Pacific Region in the coming decades.
Within the last two years, Washington and Canberra have locked onto Damen’s LST-100 designs to meet their demand for littoral maneuvers assets to ferry specialized ground formations to the various archipelagic areas of the Indo-Pacific during a conflict with China, according to separate announcements from the defense contractor. While smaller than the traditional large deck amphibious vessels deployed by both nations, these landing ship transports will allow American and Australian forces to disperse their new littoral formations equipped to counter China’s naval forces with mobile infantry and area denial assets.
Before its selection to meet the requirements of the Marine Corps Landing Ship Medium and Australian Landing Craft Heavy programs, the LST-100 was first ordered by the Nigerian Navy.
Damen LST-100 concept art
Construction on the launch vessel, NNS Kada (LST-1314), began in 2019 at Damen’s Albwardy Damen shipyard in the United Arab Emirates and concluded in 2021. The 2,800-ton amphibious vessel – the second largest in the service’s fleet – was the first of its kind to be operated by Nigeria. Following a 56-day-long voyage, the first LST-100 was delivered to Abuja in 2022 despite COVID-19 disruptions. Three months after its commissioning, Kada conducted its first operational deployment.
The LST-100 deployed Nigeria’s contingent to the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) stabilization support mission in Guinea Bissau following a coup attempt, itself related to a trend of military revolts across West African states throughout the early 2020s. Kada transported personnel and lightly armored vehicles in a voyage across the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic. A Nigerian Navy media report highlighted the vessel’s strategic sealift capabilities, which the service previously lacked.
Since its first deployment, the Nigerian Navy’s LST-100 has frequently deployed for regional maritime drills, and it continues to ferry vehicles and equipment in support of ECOWAS and African Union peacekeeping missions.
Kada has also played a role in informing the Australian Landing Craft program. Last year, a delegation headed by Brigadier Colin Bassett, Director-General Platforms, visited Nigeria to examine LST-100 for research purposes.
“The Australian Defense Force is currently undertaking a fleet renewal program, and in the course of our research, we identified NNS Kada as a top-tier option in terms of capability and modern naval requirements,” Bassett told local media at the time. “It is recognized as one of the best-designed Landing Ship Tanks in the world, and we are keen to understand its operational efficiency firsthand.”
In the coming years, Australia plans to commission eight of the amphibious vessels to transport tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and High Mobility Rocket Artillery Systems. Construction will be done at Austal’s Henderson Shipyard between 2026 to 2028. Together with additional amphibious programs, Canberra has described the initiative as the “largest recapitalization of the Army’s littoral capability since [World War II].”
Known as the McClung-class Landing Ship Mediums in American service, the Marine Corps has highlighted the vessels as crucial for Indo-Pacific and anti-ship missile-armed littoral regiment operations. The service envisions their deployment to support dispersed sensing and area denial operations identified under Force Design, the Marine Corps plan to gear its forces and capabilities toward a fight against China.
While the Navy previously picked a derivative of the Army’s Frank S. Besson-class 4,200-ton landing ship, Damen’s LST-100 was chosen following a program change in December. Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Wisconsin and Mississippi-based Bollinger Shipyards will construct the first landing ships of the class.
Source: USNI NEWS
