Marine Hovercraft From Textron Flawed by Propeller Cracks
- Navy says the ship-to-shore transport is safe to operate
- Marines view air-cushion craft as crucial to their operations
Even with the cracks unresolved, the Navy awarded Textron a $386 million contract.
Source: Textron
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The U.S. Navy accepted delivery this year from Textron Inc. of the first two in a new generation of hovercraft for the Marines despite “extensive propeller blade cracking” that will require a redesign, according to service officials and documents.
The previously undisclosed problem was discovered during mid-2019 tests of the $5.7 billion program to build new air-cushion hovercraft to move Marines from ship to shore.