Saronic lands Navy landing craft contract, first build at Brownsville’s Port Alpha

Austin defense tech firm will build manned Navy logistics vessels at its new Cameron County shipyard, with production set to begin in 2028

Saronic announced that it has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Navy to construct Landing Craft Utility (LCU) vessels, executed as a firm fixed-price agreement under an Other Transaction Authority (OTA) award. This will be the first build at Port Alpha, Saronic’s next-generation shipyard in Brownsville, TX.

LCUs are a core Navy logistics vessel, used to move troops, vehicles, and cargo from ships offshore directly onto a beach or unimproved shoreline without the need for a port or pier. The LCU possesses heavy-lift capability with a 170-ton payload capacity, able to carry cargo from amphibious ships across open water, shore-to-shore, and back again, with a range of roughly 1,200 nautical miles. This capability is central to amphibious operations, resupply, and disaster-response missions.

The demand for this type of connector is rising from the Marine Corps and Navy, as the existing, aging fleet is actively being replaced. Saronic will now support the delivery of multiple LCUs to address the Navy’s needs under the current program of record, with the OT structure allowing the Service to move expeditiously to get the company under contract.