Due to the heightening risk of being attacked during the most critical phase, that of the landing, amphibious ships tend to stay as far as possible from the coastline, thus increasing the distance that has to be covered by landing craft in the ship-to-shore trip and vice-versa. This has an obvious impact on the design of new landing craft. It is however to note that many countries do not look for shiptoshore transport, but to shore-to-shore movements, which means that the market is still open for larger landing craft with dimensions that would not allow to interface with an amphibious ship.
Read more in armada International's issue 1/2010
