LCS disappointing

[dragon53]

Link: https://www.yahoo.com/news/why-u-navy-a ... _test=1_06

[Haijun watcher]

And speaking of the people who continue to perpetuate/fund this disappointment just to lock down votes who would keep them in power:

Defense News

Alabama lawmaker accuses Navy secretary of endangering jobs, LCS future
By: David B. Larter ? 10 hours ago
WASHINGTON � The U.S. Navy�s top civilian bristled during congressional questioning Tuesday after Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., suggested the service was endangering shipyards and the broader defense industrial base by only requesting one littoral combat ship in 2019.

Byrne, whose district would be deeply affected if the Austal USA shipyard shuttered, accused Navy Secretary Richard Spencer and the service of slowing down the buying program and putting thousands of jobs in jeopardy.

�Since you�ve come on board, I haven�t seen you pick up the urgency on this program; in fact, I see the opposite,� Byrne said. �I think you are slowing down the program.�

Both shipyards have told Congress that if the Navy drops down to just one LCS, the yards would lay off thousands of workers and there would be a real risk that one or both of the LCS shipyards (located in Mobile, Alabama, and Marinette, Wisconsin) might have to close.
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[Haijun watcher]

Despite this, there's too many entrenched political interests who want to ensure this particular program continues...

Task and Purpose/Business Insider

The US Navy basically admitted that the Littoral Combat Ship looks like a massive failure

Jared Keller, Task & Purpose Apr. 14, 2018, 11:26 AM 40,101

• The Navy �may not� deploy any of the dozen small surface combatants this year despite officials� previous plans to deploy several to join the 7th and 5th Fleets in Singapore and Bahrain respectively, the US Naval Institute reported.
• The report suggests that the Navy has run out of patience for the disappointment mill that is the Littoral Combat Ship, once the backbone of the future fleet that could have 355 ships.
• A recent review of the Navy�s LCS fleet by the Pentagon�s operational testing and evaluation arm also revealed significant structural problems with the program�s Freedom and Independence variants

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[Haijun watcher]

Is it really that surprising that the poorly-armed LCS vessels lost a simulation against a Chinese opponent?

National Interest

August 30, 2019
Simulation: U.S. Navy Littoral Combat Ships Lose the Battle for the South China Sea
Could this happen in real life?
by David Axe Follow @daxe on Twitter L
The U.S. Navy in late 2019 or 2020 expects to select a shipyard to build the fleet�s new guided-missile frigate.
The 20 heavily-armed frigates will replace roughly half of the 50 or so Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) that the Navy had planned to buy before realizing that the lightly-armed LCS likely couldn�t survive in a major shooting war.
Just how vulnerable is the LCS?
In 2013 journalist Kyle Mizokami put the speedy, 3,000-ton-displacement vessel to the test. Booting up Command: Modern Naval/Air Operations -- a high-end computer war game -- Mizokami pitted simulated LCSs against a Chinese flotilla.
�The result isn�t good � and a harrowing lesson to be cautious about how we equip the U.S. military,� Mizokami wrote.
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[Timmy C]

...a friggin' open-source video game? From seven years ago? But it is the National Interest after all...don't expect much from them.

[Haijun watcher]

Military.com

New Law Restricts the Navy to 35 Littoral Combat Ships
23 Dec 2019
Military.com | By Richard Sisk
The defense bill signed by President Donald Trump last week limits the Navy to 35 Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) in the fleet and bars funding for more.
"None of the funds authorized" in the National Defense Authorization Act can be used to exceed "the total procurement quantity of 35 Littoral Combat Ships," Congress stipulated in the legislation.
To get a 36th LCS, the under secretary of defense for acquisition would have to go before the Senate and House Armed Services Committees to argue that an additional LCS is in the vital national security interests of the U.S., according to the legislation.
The action signals Congress' frustration with the LCS program's progress and an intention to switch focus to a new class of guided-missile frigates.
The limits on the LCS program are "necessary to maintain a full and open competition for the Guided Missile Frigate FFG(X) with a single source award in fiscal year 2020," the legislation states.
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[Haijun watcher]

Defense News

US Navy proposes decommissioning first 4 LCS more than a decade early
By: David B. Larter ? 2 days ago
ELMER, New Jersey � The US Navy has put forward a proposal to decommission the first four littoral combat ships in 2021 as part of a cost-savings measure, according to a memorandum from the White House�s Office of Management and Budget to the Defense Department.
The memo obtained by Defense News outlines plans to decommission the littoral combat ships Freedom, Independence, Fort Worth and Coronado, part of an overall plan to shrink the size of the force to deal with a flat budget. The ships all have between a 12 and 17 years of planned hull life left.
The memo also outlines plans to decommission three dock landing ships Whidbey Island, Germantown and the Gunston Hall, between eight and 14 years early, as well as accelerating the decommissioning of four cruisers.
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[maxim]

This is interesting - not only LCS should be decommissioned earlier, but also several cruisers and LSD. That means that the fleet size will not be expanded, because there is apparently insufficient funding... Surprise!

[gms]

They should cut back on the ships they are building rather than decommissioning ships too early.

[Haijun watcher]

Military.com

Navy's 1st 4 Littoral Combat Ships Head to Retirement as Shipbuilding Budget Drops
10 Feb 2020
Military.com | By Gina Harkins
The Navy is forging ahead with a plan to build a 355-ship fleet, but its construction budget for new warships is set to fall significantly in 2021.
The Navy will spend $16.4 billion on two new subs, a pair of destroyers, a next-generation frigate, an amphibious transport dock, and two towing, salvage and rescue vessels next year. The submarine builds will include plans for the first of the new Columbia-class subs along with one Virginia-class.
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[Admiral John Byng]

There are a few errors in that report which makes me wonder how much validity it has. But, if true, then I doubt the US Navy will even notice the loss of the first four LCS. They need to hurry up and decide which type of frigate they are going to order.

[Haijun watcher]

At least the USN is starting to see this LCS "money pit" has gone on long enough...


Defense News

US Navy�s first 4 littoral combat ships to leave the fleet in 9 months
By: David B. Larter ? 3 days ago

The littoral combat ship Fort Worth transits the Sulu Sea. Fort Worth will be in the mothball fleet next spring. (MC2 Joe Bishop/U.S. Navy)
WASHINGTON � The Navy�s first four littoral combat ships will be headed into mothballs next March, according to a June 20 message from the chief of naval operations.
The littoral combat ships Freedom, Independence, Fort Worth and Coronado will all be inactivated on March 31, 2021, with Coronado being commissioned just six years ago.
The Navy decided to cut the ships to save money on modernization efforts as it faces a mountain of shipbuilding bills and upgrade costs.
The ships were supposed to be used as test vessels for the continued standing up of the LCS class, but LCS 1 through 4 have just about reached the end of their usefulness as test vessels and are no longer worth a deeper financial investment, according to a February briefing by Rear Adm. Randy Crites, the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for budget.
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[Haijun watcher]

The United States Navy trying to make the most of these ships while they are still in service?

Defense NEWS

US Navy prepares major surge of littoral combat ship deployments
By: David B. Larter ? 22 hours ago
WASHINGTON � The U.S. Navy is taking major steps in an attempt to shake off years of false starts and setbacks with the Littoral Combat Ship program, an effort Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday said he�d oversee on his watch.
In an exclusive interview with Defense News on July 16, Gilday listed LCS as a major priority, saying he will turn up the heat on efforts to get the ship to become a major contributor to fleet operations.
�There are things in the near term that I have to deliver, that I�m putting heat on now, and one of them is LCS,� Gilday said. �One part is sustainability and reliability. We know enough about that platform and the problems that we have that plague us with regard to reliability and sustainability, and I need them resolved.�
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[maxim]

Still in service? Most of them will be probably still in service in 25 years.

Only the first four ships (LCS-1 to -4) are scheduled to be decommissioned early, probably because they have as test ships to many problems and were therefore not updated.

[navydavesof]

My idea has always been to use LCS as a command ship for corvettes and to carry a large number of UAVs. It would carry a ton of winged UAVs, coms gear, and carry a ton of fuel. They would deploy with lengthened Cyclone-class ships to accommodate Harpoons, 76mm, and SeaRAM or CIWS. The group would be called regional influence squadrons, and the LCS would be a command ship. They really can't do anything else other than defend themselves, but at least they could accommodate a ton of winged UAVs and a good communications suite.

[Haijun watcher]

The latest breakdown:

Defense News

Another littoral combat ship breaks down on deployment
By: David B. Larter ? 20 hours ago


The Freedom-class littoral combat ship Detroit sails through the Caribbean Sea. Detroit suffered a casualty to its propulsion system and is returning to port in Florida for repairs. (MC2 Anderson Branch/U.S. Navy)
WASHINGTON � The littoral combat ship Detroit is limping back to Mayport, Florida from a deployment to South America in a move that marks the latest setback for the Freedom variant�s complicated propulsion system.
Three sources familiar with the situation told Defense News the casualty is in Detroit�s combining gear, which is a complex transmission that connects power from two large gas turbine engines and two main propulsion diesel engines to the ship�s propulsion shafts, which propels the ship through the water with water jets.
Detroit will redeploy to Southern Command when repairs are completed, U.S. 4th Fleet Commander Rear Adm. Don Gabrielson said in a statement.
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[Haijun watcher]

Added emphasis on the word "another" in the headline"

Defense News

Littoral combat ship Detroit is being towed into port after another engineering failure
By: David B. Larter ? 22 hours ago
WASHINGTON � The littoral combat ship Detroit suffered another engineering casualty on its return trip to its home port in Florida and is being towed into Port Canaveral, the U.S. Navy confirmed Friday.
The ship lost power on its return journey from a deployment in Latin America, which it was forced to depart after a casualty to its combining gear. It is being towed back to port by the tug and supply vessel Gary Chouest, according to U.S. 2nd Fleet spokesperson Cmdr. Ashley Hockycko.
�While conducting routine operations in the U.S. Fourth Fleet area of responsibility, the USS Detroit (LCS 7) experienced an engineering casualty. After a thorough technical evaluation, it was determined that repairs would need to be made in port,� Hockycko said in a statement.

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[Haijun watcher]

Some WI politicians and their shipbuilder union constituencies wont be happy if this went forward:

Forbes

Now Is The Perfect Time To Sink The Freedom Class Littoral Combat Ship
Craig HooperSenior Contributor
Aerospace & Defense
I evaluate national security threats and propose solutions.

USS Detroit is the latest in a long line of Freedom Class Littoral Combat Ships to break down.
U.S. Navy
As tugs bring home the newly-broken Freedom Class Littoral Combat Ship, USS Detroit (LCS 7), it is time for the U.S. Navy to declare the Freedom class Littoral Combat Ship an irredeemable failure. With the anticipated change in administration, Naval leaders have an unparalleled opportunity to earn bipartisan credit by putting the Service�s long struggle with the Freedom class behind it.
Rather than to continue throwing more and more good money after bad, Admiral Michael Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations, as well as the outgoing Secretary of the Navy, Kenneth J. Braithwaite, can use the three-month interregnum between Administrations to recommend the prompt decommissioning of the ten Freedom class ships that are already in service, impose a �stop work order� on the six hulls that are authorized or are already under construction in Marinette, Wisconsin, and propose to accelerate construction of the new and much-anticipated Constella
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[Haijun watcher]

Defense News

Broken littoral combat ship Detroit returns to sea on its own power
By: David B. Larter ? 18 hours ago
WASHINGTON � After suffering a total breakdown and being towed into port earlier this month, the littoral combat ship Detroit returned to sea Tuesday and is heading back to its home port in Mayport, Florida, under its own power, U.S. 2nd Fleet confirmed.
The ship lost power on its return journey from a deployment in Latin America, which it was forced to depart after a casualty to its combining gear.
�USS Detroit (LCS 7) departed Port Canaveral today under ship�s power to return to its home port of Naval Station Mayport, after making repairs in port,� 2nd Fleet spokesperson Lt. Marycate Walsh said Tuesday.
A source familiar with the Detroit�s casualties said the repairs to the electrical system were relatively minor, but that the issue with the combining gear remains unresolved.
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[Haijun watcher]

At this rate, the acronym should now stand for "Lemon Conking Ship" instead:


Defense News

US Navy investigates potential LCS class-wide design flaw
By: David B. Larter ? 13 hours ago
WASHINGTON � Repeated failures in the propulsion train on the Freedom-class littoral combat ships Little Rock and Detroit have raised the specter of a class-wide design flaw that could trigger an expensive reworking of a crucial component on 17 of the Navy�s small surface combatants.
The issue being investigated is whether there is a fundamental issue with the design of the Freedom-class� combining gear � a complex transmission that connects power from two large gas turbine engines and two main propulsion diesel engines to the ship�s propulsion shafts, which propel the ship through the water with water jets.
A potential class-wide issue with the propulsion train on 17 ships either in the fleet or under contract is the latest in a long string of issues with the littoral combat ship program. Senior Navy leaders have tried repeatedly to set the program aright only to be confronted with stubborn challenges ranging from unreliable engineering plants to glacial development progress on the sensor packages that would give the ships credible warfighting capabilities.
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