It’s All about Having New Littorals to Conquer

And on the lighter side of the news, Trump reinvigorates the Littoral Combat Ship project by creating vast swaths of newly hostile littoral…

Whether planned or not, the US Navy has adopted a blend of strategies for managing the problem of the LCS. On the one hand ,it has limited the organization’s overall exposure by reducing projected acquisition of the ships. With supply chains, production facilities, and administrative structures in place and when in need of a great number of operational hulls,  it doesn’t necessarily make sense to shut the entire line down, but reducing the overall order puts a firewall on the extent of the problem. 

Second, the Navy has rid itself of the most limited members of the class, the ships that would require substantial modification to achieve functionality. This has embarrassed the service and put it in hot water with Congress, which is justifiably curious about why the Navy wants to scrap ships that are almost brand new during a period of intense naval competition with China, which is easily outbuilding the US on a hull-for-hull basis. That the Navy has also needed to justify a new class of frigates only adds to Congressional consternation.  

Finally, the Navy is trying to make the ships more useful. This includes modifications such as the integration of containerized vertical launch system cells onto the ship (as discussed in these pages by Sebastien Roblin), which will give it the ability to launch larger, longer-ranged, and more lethal missiles against surface and air targets. 

I am honestly torn between horror at what’s happening and fascination with what’s going to happen next.

Photo credit: By Statistics Canada – https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/subjects/standard/sdac/maps/m005, StatCanOpen, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=128973791