Check out the LCAC: The massive Navy hovercraft that hauls Marines into battle

The US Navy’s Landing Craft, Air Cushion, or LCAC, is designed to haul 60 to 75 tons of cargo over the water and across the beach during amphibious operations.

The LCAC’s air cushion allows it to access 70% of the world’s coastline, outstripping conventional landing craft, which can only handle about 15%.

The LCAC first deployed aboard the USS Germantown dock-landing ship in 1987 and continues to serve the Navy, hauling everything from personnel and equipment to landing craft and M1 Abrams tanks to shore.

Over the weekend, LCACs aboard amphibious-assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard took part in an amphibious-landing rehearsal as part of Talisman Saber 17, a US-Australian bilateral exercise done every two years off the coast of Australia.

In footage released by the US Defense Department, LCACs can be seen entering and exiting the Bonhomme Richard’s well deck and zipping across the water, performing exercises to “increase naval proficiencies in operating against blue-water adversarial threats” during littoral operations.

Read the whole story from Business Insider.

Featured image courtesy of the U.S. Navy