Is that better than SCMODS ?
Posted on 11/18/2017 4:18:50 PM PST by Mariner
On the Wisconsin shore of the Menominee River a new 3,000-ton Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship sits docked in the water. It's already been delivered to the Navy by Lockheed Martin and it's already active.
A crew of 50 live aboard and have been conducting tests for six months on nearby Lake Michigan. Next month, the warship will be commissioned the USS Little Rock before deploying to Florida.
In addition to automation that has cut crew size in half versus more traditional ships of this size, interchangeable "mission packages," and a top speed of 40 knots, the close-to-shore warship will tout something else: the ability to vertically launch Hellfire missiles (also made by Lockheed) to target threats on land, sea and in the air.
It's one of the ways Lockheed is looking to make the controversial ship more lethal. It's a strategy meant to not only silence critics and snag more orders, but better position the top defense contractor for one of the biggest, most-anticipated new Navy contracts.
"This is a warship," says Michele Evans, Lockheed's vice president and general manager of integrated warfare systems and sensors, a multibillion dollar Naval systems portfolio that includes LCS and the Aegis Ballistic Missile Dense system.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
I suspect they bought off multiple Congressmen, Senators and Admirals (big jobs for them, friends and family) to get a 20 ship deal for this joke of a combat vessel.
However, we do need 50-100 platforms of this size. They must have the standard Mk-41 VLS, Baby Aegis and Harpoon.
It must be a multi-role Frigate capable of operating independently, or in large combined groups.
The price CAN be limited to $500 mil per unit.
My vote goes to the National Security Patrol Frigate by Huntington Ingalls though it's a little larger than the 3,000 ton spec. All weapons systems and electronics can be modified AND can be variable, but I prefer a standard platform with all systems the same.
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/huntington-ingalls-has-new-frigate-could-give-the-us-navy-19020
Just as long as it comes with TCAS
Sorry but all surface capital ships transmit a unique magnetic resonance. There are numerous satellites, surveillance aircraft, buoys, drones and all sorts of listening devices that have the capability of locating and pinpointing this and any other ship. Once located in this modern and stealthy technological era, a competent opponent can bring ordnance on these ships without leaving a bunker in their backyard. The era of big surface capital ships is over. IMHO, it is almost criminal to send a supercarrier with 5,000 young sailors far from port close to a competent enemy’s shore. Realize this upsets many good Freepers but remember the dominance and stringency of the “Battleship Admiral” from 1925-1940 led to the watery graves of many brave young men in all the warring nations.
If it can someday be more lethal to the enemy than the crew in a combat situation, it will be a great achievement.
Hmmmm. Lethal to who?
Is that better than SCMODS ?
You can’t possibly fight this kind of ship with a crew of 40. Damage control can’t be automated.
The navy specifying a pop gun for the two classes meant that the ship was going to be worthless as a combat ship. Put on a 3 inch gun and they’d be fine for Coast Guard Cutters.
And as usual the taxpayers are getting ripped off.
Oh well the navy brass has got to get the numbers of warships up to speed quickly, to heck with building real warships when floating soda cans will pass muster and make the usual 10-20x profits over costs.
(sigh)
I'm pretty sure the max range of a Hellfire is something like 8 km.
I wonder what's up. This is...unusual.
With a tiny gun, small crew and virtually no armor, the boats are intended to be disposable.
“Once located in this modern and stealthy technological era, a competent opponent can bring ordnance on these ships without leaving a bunker in their backyard. “
Are you referring to the DF-21 cartoon? I used to watch that too, but it became boring and repetitive.
” IMHO, it is almost criminal to send a supercarrier with 5,000 young sailors far from port close to a competent enemy’s shore”
The price of an American Capital Ship is total war.
Do you know anyone who’d ready to sign up for that? How about within the next 20 years?
All US warships have been steel hulls with aluminum above the water line for at least 50 years.
As with all modern warships, worldwide.
They are Expendable
There is not a single US Warship that is armored.
They compartmentalize instead.
Another ‘Admiral Special’ undermanned and ready to burn hotly with the first hit, if it even makes it to a combat zone - with a full crew complement.
It’s gonna be great as soon as they can get it to sail without sinking.
How is that working out for them?
I looked at the link you provided, where it says:
Power would come from a pair of 9,655shp diesels and 30,565shp gas turbine—giving the ship a top speed of just above 28 knots.
Doesn't the Navy want to electrify the fleet so that lasers and railguns can be installed? Isn't that the future? I wonder if this boat's powerplant could be altered to basically run a large electric generator.
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