The U.S. Army is developing the Maneuver Support Vessel (Light) and the Maneuver Support Vessel (Heavy) to replace its aging fleet of landing craft. The Army's watercraft fleet saw its mission-capable rate fall from approximately 75 percent in 2020 to 35 percent in 2024.

The Maneuver Support Vessel (Light) is intended to replace the Army's nine Landing Craft Mechanized-8 vessels, which first saw service in the Vietnam War. Each Maneuver Support Vessel (Light) will cost $63.1 million, with a total program cost of $1 billion for 13 planned hulls, a reduction from an original plan for 36 hulls. The vessel can haul 82 tons, an increase from the 60 tons carried by the Landing Craft Mechanized-8. An M1A2 SEPv3 tank weighs 73.6 tons.

For heavier transport needs, the Army is developing the Maneuver Support Vessel (Heavy) to replace its Gen. Frank S. Besson-class Logistics Support Vessels. These vessels weigh 4,199 tons and are scheduled to age out between 2028 and 2038. Currently, the Maneuver Support Vessel (Heavy) program has no firm production numbers, no chosen design, and no established fielding timeline. The Army's requirements for a heavy watercraft include a length of 400 feet and a speed of 18 knots, while carrying up to 175 soldiers and their equipment to shore.

An unclassified executive summary from Army Futures Command in October 2023 analyzed whether to continue developing its own heavy watercraft or pursue joint development of the Navy's vessels. The analysis concluded that the Navy's design was not suitable as a replacement for the Army's design due to its smaller size and slower speed. The Army's Logistics Support Vessels and Utility Landing Craft are, on average, more than three decades old, and as of May 2024, one Army watercraft had been out of service for over five years. Separately, the U.S. Army is exploring an Autonomous Resupply Vehicle designed to move at least two 20-foot containers over a 1,600-nautical-mile round trip in sea states four through six.