The US Senate Subcommittee has approved $800m to support the procurement of a 12th landing platform/dock (LPD) class amphibious warship.
Supporting the approval of the defence spending bill, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee vice chairman Senator Thad Cochran said: "Our ongoing challenge is to make sure our military forces are equipped with the defence capabilities that they need to protect the security interests of our country.
"I think this is a solid bill that reflects a very careful review of requests from the Department of Defense for funding of programs, activities and training that are important to our security."
The LPD funding, together with $200m for an additional joint high speed vessel (JHSV), is one of the defence programmes funded in the Senate bill to deal with readiness concerns raised as a result of sequestration pressures on the defence department.
Furthermore, the new LPD class vessel could act as a bridge vessel in the replacement of the fleet of 30+ year-old LSD amphibious vessels.
"As we reviewed the near and long-term needs of our Armed Forces in light of budget constraints, we had to make difficult choices," Cochran added.
"The LPD funding would put the Navy on course for accepting a modern vessel and potentially saving taxpayer dollars through efficient use of existing production lines."
Last year, Cochran worked to secure $263m for the LPD 17 programme and supported the navy to present a plan to manage the deficit of amphibious through report language.
