[7] It will offer an increased capacity to cope with the growing weight of equipment used by the United States Army and Marine Corps.

[10] A contract for detailed design work and construction of the first test and training craft, was expected to be awarded in 2011.

[7] On 6 July 2012, the US Navy awarded Textron, Inc of New Orleans, LA a $212.7M fixed-priced incentive-fee contract for the detail design and construction of a Ship-to-Shore Connector test and training craft.

[16] The cores of the two engines types are identical, which should provide some relief in spare parts storage to those ships that will operate both the (tiltrotor) aircraft and the hovercraft.

A simpler and more efficient drivetrain using one gearbox is on each side for fewer parts, less maintenance and higher reliability.