Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC)

The Landing Craft Air Cushion is a U.S. Navy air-cushioned landing craft used to move Marines, vehicles, weapons, and cargo from amphibious ships to shore. Because it rides on a cushion of air, it can cross beaches, mud flats, marshes, and other surfaces that restrict conventional displacement landing craft.

LCACs carry heavy payloads at high speed from ship to shore and can reach a much larger share of the world's coastline than traditional landing craft. That expands where an amphibious force can land, reducing predictability and allowing commanders to choose beaches based on tactical need rather than only hydrographic suitability.

The LCAC's importance lies in the gap between blue-water amphibious ships and land operations. It turns a well deck into practical mobility, moving tanks, artillery, trucks, supplies, and relief cargo ashore while keeping large amphibious ships farther from the beach and some coastal threats.