The Navy is looking at how the Marines can use the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) for attack helicopter operations. Let's explore expanding that line of inquiry.
Huh:
The U.S. Navy is demonstrating how a ship originally built for littoral surface warfare could assume a broader role as a mobile aviation node for Marine Corps attack helicopters. In imagery dated October 5, 2026, and released October 12, Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 7 documented sailors aboard the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Canberra (LCS 30) preparing a Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper of Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 for departure at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa. The activity is part of wider Navy-Marine Corps integration that could expand the number of locations from which armed rotary-wing aircraft can operate across the Indo-Pacific.
Second, as long as the Navy and Marines are looking at the LCS, consider using them to move and sustain Marine outposts in expeditionary advanced base operations.
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NOTE: Photograph from the article.
