Navy Awards Walashek $12.2 Million to Extend Life of LCAC 65 Hovercraft

Naval Sea Systems Command tapped the National City, California, firm to overhaul an aging landing craft under a firm-fixed-price deal running through June 2028, funded by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

First Published: July 30, 2026, 1:34 PM ET

NATIONAL CITY, CALIFORNIA — Walashek Industrial & Marine Inc.(Walashek), a National City, California, ship-repair firm, received a $12.2 million Navy contract to extend the service life of an aging air-cushion landing craft, as announced on war.gov.

The firm-fixed-price award covers the Landing Craft, Air Cushion Extended Service Life Extension Program for LCAC 65, one of the hovercraft the Navy uses to move troops and vehicles from ships to shore. Work will run at Camp Pendleton, California, and finish by June 2028. Fiscal 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act shipbuilding and conversion funds cover the full amount and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year, according to war.gov.

Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity under contract number N00024-26-C-2409, according to war.gov. The command manages the design, construction and maintenance of the Navy’s ships and combat systems. This is the first contract awarded to Walashek in 2026, lifting the company’s total contract value for the year to $12.2 million. The deal ranks as the 93rd Department of Defense award booked in California this year, one of 15 defense contracts issued nationwide on July 30, 2026.

Sustaining the LCAC fleet carries weight for the Marine Corps, which relies on the craft for amphibious assault and disaster response. Each vessel can ferry a main battle tank across surf and beach that conventional landing boats cannot reach. Extending an existing hull spares the Navy the far higher cost of building a replacement, a calculation that benefits both the service and the small yards that perform the work.

For the average American reader, the award represents a slice of the roughly $850 billion annual defense budget flowing to a regional employer rather than a large prime contractor. Spending of this size keeps skilled trades working at a coastal repair yard and channels taxpayer money into maintaining equipment already in the fleet.

This has happened before. The Navy has steadily fed its aging air-cushion craft through service-life extension work as it phases in the newer Ship-to-Shore Connector. Small West Coast repair firms have repeatedly captured these overhaul jobs, and Walashek’s earlier awards, topping out near $15 million, show a pattern of modest, recurring contracts rather than single large builds.

The next decision rests with Naval Sea Systems Command, which will oversee performance and any follow-on work as the overhaul proceeds toward its June 2028 completion target. No date has been announced for a further award tied to LCAC 65.

Naval sustainment work has long turned on the endurance of individual hulls. The original LCAC entered Navy service in 1986 with a planned 20-year run before the fleet began aging past that mark. Extension programs pushed many craft well beyond that window as the Ship-to-Shore Connector fell behind schedule. The result has been a steady demand for yards willing to keep decades-old hovercraft ready for the surf, a niche that has sustained firms like the one now handling LCAC 65.

This contract represents the 1st contract awarded to Walashek Industrial & Marine Inc.(Walashek), in 2026, bringing the company’s total contract value for the year to $12,188,754. It is also the 93rd Department of Defense contract awarded in California during 2026. While this is not the largest contract ever awarded to Walashek Industrial & Marine Inc. (Walashek), whose record stands at $15,002,459, it is notable within the Navy portfolio. Specifically, it falls between the 2026 Navy portfolio’s year-to-date minimum of $9,046,496 and maximum of $8,000,000,000. Overall, this award was announced among 15 Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on July 30, 2026.