Posted on 03/29/2010 11:03:50 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
A new platform ordered by the U.S. Navy could play a key role in any war against Iran. The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments said the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) could play a major role in U.S. Navy operations in the Gulf. The center, in a report by Martin Murphy, said LCS could conduct such operations as interception and boarding, convoy protection and attack missions.
"The LCS's tactical speed allows for rapid interception of potentially threatening Iranian boat swarms before they can close within weapons range of shipping in wider areas of the Gulf and the southern approaches to the Strait of Hormuz," the report said.
Littoral Combat Ship USS Independence during builder's trials in the Gulf of Mexico. Reuters/Dennis Griggs/General Dynamics
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"That speed similarly enables rapid convoy escort screen readjustment or reorientation as units are drawn out of position while reacting to particular threats." So far, two Middle East navies — Israel and Saudi Arabia — have been examining LCS. The U.S. Navy has commissioned LCS variants by General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin, designed to operate at a range of up to 4,300 nautical miles and with a speed of more than 45 knots.
Titled "Littoral Combat Ship An Examination of its Possible Concepts of Operation," the report warned that Iran could use hundreds of fast attack vessels to overcome U.S. aircraft carriers and other large vessels. LCS, however, could respond rapidly and foil the so-called swarm strategy of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, granted responsibility for Iranian operations in the Gulf.
"Armed helicopters embarked on SUW-configured LCSs would be primary 'swarm' killers if strike aircraft with anti-surface attack capability were unavailable," the report said.
Murphy, a consultant for the navies of Britain and the United States, said LCS could be vital in any U.S. effort to prevent Iranian attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf. He said the shallow waters prevent operations by large U.S. Navy vessels in many parts of the Gulf.
"The most likely threat of actual violence against Gulf shipping or energy infrastructure is assumed to come from IRGC 'rogue' assets, whether these are in fact rogues or are deliberately deployed as such in order to maintain Iranian regime plausible deniability in the eyes of certain regional and global actors," the report said. "IRGCN units could employ missile-equipped small boat 'swarms,' mines deployed from a variety of platforms — including ostensibly 'innocent' vessels — and combat swimmer attacks against fixed offshore infrastructure."
Ping
These are fantastic ships. There is talk that there are to be fitted for the AEGIS.
OK, folks -- we have a sea-going craft that challenges the F-15 or F-22 in beauty.
That may be one of the most elegant man-made machines I have ever seen!
Thanks for the ping SonofStrangelove.
Looks like something the Coast Guard (in some areas) should have, too.
Could probably replace the bigger classes of CG cutters .... tons of deckspace for Lyle guns, firefighting projectors, cranes and winches, etc.
Underwater tubes for Mk 48's, Harpoon, Exocet.
Deck launchers for Exocet, Standard. (Shades of the old Higgins boats and their torpedo tubes.)
Seawolf would be a good CIWS to pair with Phalanx, esp. given the unhealthy interest the raggies have shown in producing Chinese ASM designs. Also, not a bad SAM; worked like a charm in the Falklands.
I love it! The smellies come up with a carrier-killing tactic amid great fanfare while we quietly build a ship from scratch, in just a couple of years, that counters the threat. No, my swarthy friend, you cannot defeat a great chess master by swarming his king with pawns. That you thought so is laughable.
BTW, how many of these would be attached to a carrier group operating near land, one, two, ten? I hope it’s one. Greater humiliation that way.
I hope it can dodge the Shkval. Will they be fitted with Skyguard laser defense system?
The Independence is in Key West Today ---> It may look NASA, but it's Navy
The USS Independence, which looks more like an imperial battleship from a Star Wars movie than a traditional naval vessel, pulled into Key West Monday as part of its inaugural mission.
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Hey, how about sending it to the Horn of Africa to sink pirate Mother Ships.
Apparently, they are going to defeat the “swarm attacks” without firing the ship’s gun. One wonders how this strategy will work out in unfavorable weather conditions. One wonders again under what sea states the ships can launch and retrieve helicopters. Or is the Persian Gulf always calm?
Saw a demo of the naval gun on the Military History channel. Fearsome weapon.
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