Vladimir Putin’s Amphibious Gambit Demonstrates Value Of New USMC Ship Design
Craig HooperSenior Contributor
In January, as Russia sent an aged fleet of six diminutive landing craft on a cruise towards the Black Sea, a fearful Europe took notice. Confronted by ships that are, at best, modernized variants of America’s once ubiquitous World War II-era Tank Landing Ship, or LST, Sweden re-deployed their military, and Finland worried over their demilitarized Åland Islands. Beyond the Baltic Sea, countries dedicated some of their most modern military resources to track and escort the little band of ships around Europe, through the Mediterranean and towards Ukraine. Despite the uproar, all the little Russian fleet has done so far is to demonstrate the military relevance of utilitarian landing craft, offering the U.S. Marine Corps an opportunity to reinvigorate their flagging effort to get “old-school” LSTs back into the American fleet.
Though Russian President Vladimir Putin may well live to regret the long-term consequences of his little amphibious gambit, he had to have loved the West’s initial reaction. So far, it has been a master class in how to leverage puny, militarily insignificant naval units—extracting maximum value out of feeble old ships that Western navies would have scrapped long ago.
Russia’s motley amphibious expedition, a set of five Ropucha (Type 775) class LSTs and one new-but-obsolete Ivan Gren (Design 11711) class LST, are all rather small, displacing only between 4,000 to 5,000 tons apiece (To compare, a single American San Antonio (LPD-17) class amphibious assault vessel displaces 25,000 tons). The Russian LSTs are also quite old — the Russian task force includes the first Ropucha LSTs that are well into their fourth decade of service.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/craighooper/2022/01/30/vladimir-putins-amphibious-gambit-demonstrates-value-of-new-usmc-ship-design/?sh=1dae553371b3
