Nichols Martin
Vigor has laid the keel of the U.S. Army’s first light maneuver support vessel or MSV(L), marking the start of the landing ship's construction.
The company said Tuesday it partnered with BMT to design MSV(L), a type of landing seacraft tailored for operational flexibility, reliability and performance. The first MSV(L) unit will carry the name SSG Elroy F. Wells. Northrop Grumman and Gladding-Hearn were also involved in this endeavor.
Vigor received a 10-year, $979.3M contract in 2017 to develop, produce and deploy four low-rate initial production and 32 full-rate production MSV(L) units.
Officials from the U.S. Army and Washington attended the vessel’s keel laying ceremony that took place in Vancouver, Wash.
Vigor plans to employ 400 workers by 2023 to construct multiple types of military vessels including aluminum ferries.
SSG Elroy F. Wells’ construction will also debut activities at Vigor's new aluminum fabrication facility.
