IT’S a £1m armour-plated weapon of war that floats on a cushion of air and it’s made in Hampshire.

Capable of carrying 16 Royal Marines across water, mud, sand and ice, the Landing Craft Air Cushion is the latest military product from Marchwood- based Griffon Hoverworks.

Currently under test with the Army in Norway, the 40mph craft is equipped with machine guns and thermal imaging cameras.

With design input from the marines, the vehicle is intended to replace existing 17-year-old Army hovercraft models, the first ever purchased by the military and proved a success in Iraq.

Now the marines have ordered four of the new 13m hovercraft, which can be transported in a Hercules aircraft.

It’s the product of two years’ design work from Griffon, which employs up to 200 people at Marchwood and on the Isle of Wight and exports worldwide.