Marine Corps interest in small landing ships does not mean it plans to abandon large amphibious ships. The large ships already exist and remain useful, while advocates must emphasise the missing smaller category to make a funding case for it. The desired structure is a mixed flotilla in which different hull sizes cover different payload, access, and persistence needs. This is a force-balance argument rather than a proposal to replace one entire ship category with another.
Notable Point · 1:10:42
The Marine Corps case for a mixed landing-ship fleet
Interest in smaller landing ships is an argument for adding a missing layer to the US Marine Corps fleet, not for discarding every large amphibious ship.