The Marines think our hovercraft landing craft (LCAC: Landing Craft Air Cushioned) is pretty cool, but they're being replaced, because they have crummy availability, i.e. they're broken all the damn time. It has something to do with having a jet turbine ingesting salt spray all the time, and also something to do with lots of moving parts.
The proposed replacement vehicle looks like something out of 1960s SF to me, the UHAC: of the Ultra Heavy-Lift Amphibious Connector, which is kind of like an amphibious assault vehicle crossed with a paddleboat and dreamed up by Games Workshop. The thing seriously looks nuts: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/article/20140318/NEWS04/303180049/Marine-Corps-Warfighting-Lab-assesses-potential-landing-craft-replacement http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/16/tech/innovation/marines-amphibious-vehicle/
The advantage is because it actually floats, it has cargo capacity like traditional landing craft (LCU: Landing Craft Utility), but it can go ashore, and with the treads it can cross terrain impassible to the hovercraft, like breakwaters.
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The proposed replacement vehicle looks like something out of 1960s SF to me, the UHAC: of the Ultra Heavy-Lift Amphibious Connector, which is kind of like an amphibious assault vehicle crossed with a paddleboat and dreamed up by Games Workshop. The thing seriously looks nuts: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/article/20140318/NEWS04/303180049/Marine-Corps-Warfighting-Lab-assesses-potential-landing-craft-replacement
http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/16/tech/innovation/marines-amphibious-vehicle/
The advantage is because it actually floats, it has cargo capacity like traditional landing craft (LCU: Landing Craft Utility), but it can go ashore, and with the treads it can cross terrain impassible to the hovercraft, like breakwaters.