The Navy has unveiled a $3.8 billion blueprint to begin buying a new fleet of 18 relatively low-cost warships to ferry Marines -- particularly units armed with ship-killing guided missiles -- from shore to shore in a highly contested environment during a fight against China. The Pentagon’s fiscal year 2025 budget request includes new-start project to buy the lead vessel of the Medium Landing Ship class with an estimated average unit cost of $214 million, a mere five years after...
