Navy issues RFP for LSM program Vessel Construction Manager

For initial production, the Navy will direct the VCM to manage LSM construction at two shipyards: Bollinger Shipyards and Fincantieri Marinette Marine. 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 VCM will hold the prime contract with the Navy and, in turn, issue and manage its own subcontracts directly with the shipyards. This places the VCM in direct contractual control of shipyard performance and creates a buffer that, along with a proven design, is expected to reduce cost and schedule risks.

“The VCM approach not only accelerates construction timelines but also strengthens our industrial base by engaging multiple shipyards,” said Rear Adm. Brian Metcalf, program executive officer, ships. “By providing a mature, ‘build-to-print’ design and empowering a VCM to manage production, we are streamlining oversight for this acquisition. This approach accelerates the timeline and strengthens our industrial base, ensuring we have the capacity and expertise needed for sustained maritime advantage.”

This acquisition strategy is a key component of the Navy and Marine Corps’ effort to address readiness in the Indo-Pacific and reflects a change in how the Navy traditionally contracts and oversees ship construction. Leveraging this new approach, the VCM is responsible for managing the entire construction program, from the design phase through to vessel delivery and post-delivery support.

The VCM will manage production across multiple shipyards in parallel using proven commercial shipbuilding practices, with significantly fewer Navy personnel than a traditional shipbuilding program would require.

The Navy will provide a mature, “build-to-print” vessel design, significantly reducing technical and schedule risks. In December 2025, the Navy and Marine Corps jointly announced Damen Naval’s LST 100 – a proven, non-developmental design – would serve as the baseline to help rapidly field LSM capability (see earlier story).

NAVSEA says that the LSM will fill the capability gap between smaller, short-range landing craft and the Navy’s long-duration, multi-purpose amphibious warfare ships. It is essential for the maneuver and sustainment of Marine forces, providing the critical littoral mobility required in contested environments. The program will deliver a 35-ship fleet that enhances expeditionary agility and supports the Marine Corps’ concept of distributed maneuver and logistics.