Wow. I've been calling for the US Navy/Marine Corps to investigate the possibility of a modern day LST on these pages for years! My thinking? If we're talking about a forcible entry situation, and if its gonna happen the way Greenert once said then we need to be able to put as many forces ashore as quickly as possible.
A little explanation.
Greenert said that the solution to the forcible entry dilemma would be the tried and true method of rolling back enemy defenses and providing corridors to get our forces ashore. Amos disagreed and was talking about launching from 200 miles offshore and putting penny packets of Marines on the beach while hoping that air power would keep the enemy from overwhelming this small air delivered force.
I preferred the idea of putting the combined arms team on LSTs, have them make high speed dashes to the beach, deposit Marines in AAV/ACVs, our tanks, artillery etc... and then head back out to sea to our Mobile Landing Platform to pickup the next load.
The benefit of the LST over doing the same by LCAC? You're talking about putting 13 tanks and 300 Marines ashore on every trip. A comparable number (probably greater) of ACVs or whatever you decide. 4 LSTs assigned to the mission could put a battalion of armor on the beach in one trip. I don't even want to calculate how many LCACs it would take.
I'll definitely keep an eye on this ship. I'll also be interested in the Russians concept of operations with her too.
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