At least they found out.
Thank you Obama
I have a mental vision of haze gray and underway up a Detroit boulevard here. Could be a little tough to maneuver but the liberty would be awesome.
I served a bit on the USS Coral Sea (CV-43) and had a chance while teaching up at one of the shipyards to tour one of these littoral ships in Wisconsin. I recall the multi-feet thick doors in rudder area on the Coral Sea versus the paper thin construction of the littoral ship. Just not comparable. These littoral ships were not built to even withstand a 50 caliber bullet.
Too often, political concerns override physics and the state of the art.
Most likely, some well-connected shlubs made big money on a ship the Navy never wanted or needed. Zumwalt, in the 70’s was big on the “high/low mix” and look where it left us.
Maybe the people making stupid Navy decisions got their jobs based on sexual kink, color, or ‘daddy’ pull... rather than on being capable. Like most of DC...
Zumwalt Destroyers — swell idea but cost too much, could not perform it’s primary mission, was a failed program.
LCS— not needed, hard to maintain, pointless ship, failed program.
Meanwhile, over on the Air Force side, the USAF would dearly love to cancel the A-10 because it is a proven workhorse, marvelous in its critical role, and loved by the Army. The air force hasn’t managed to kill it yet but they sure want to.
We think we are militarily strong, but I have my doubts.
Some rich cats are going to picking these ships up for song and make them into Yachts.
In the Foreword to a 65-page 2014 report, "The Littoral Combat Ship: How Got Here, and Why" by Robert O. Work, Robert C. (Barney) Rubel (Dean, Center for Naval Warfare Studies) stated: "[E]very Chief of Naval Operations since Admiral Vern Clark has supported the program."
All of the LCS’s should have a new class designation.
The OBAMA/BIDEN class. They were responsible, they own this disaster, and the mention of every one of these ships should bring up the Administration and decisions that made them.
Why the Navy keeps pouring money and manpower into these ships remains an open question.
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To buoy the ship count, else Congress would have a fit.
Why couldn't they give it to the Coast Guard and use it for the same purpose?
bkmk
The amazing part is no shipbuilder will be held accountable and no admiral will lose a star. It would be better to put the money in a pile and light it on fire.
It’s not about national defense.
It’s all about contract awards, kickbacks, and campaign contributions.
They violate all standards of damage control including a tiny crew that would be unable to do the physical work. They carry less firepower than a standard battle tank and would be in serious danger from a duel with a tank sitting on the beach. We would literally be better off with a Fletcher Class destroyer with it’s depth charges, 5” and 40mm guns and torpedoes from WWII than these things, especially for the interdiction mission.
They call it a Littoral “Combat” Ship. But what is it going to combat? Up close to the beach it could be slaughtered by an anti-tank missile or a tank. At sea? It could be defeated by everything. And it is super vulnerable to missiles.
Why wouldn’t the coast guard want these?