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How do you build a ship without a mission? The littoral combat ship (LCS) is how. It could not carry out its original mission because the ship is not survivable in combat. The billions wasted on the US Navy’s so-called “urban street fighter” ship could have been used to build additional missile defense AEGIS destroyers or give the Navy more firepower or finance a new generation of robotic surface and subsurface vessels. Instead, the Navy chose to build ships it did not need and could not use. Even when they were deployed, they often broke down, deeply embarrassing the Navy...

The latest incident to befall the U.S. Navy’s troubled Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) was an embarrassingly public one, and one that left the brand-new USS Cleveland (LCS-31) damaged in the process of being launched, in front of around 3,000 people, including members of the media. The Navy has now issued a statement providing more details of the collision between the Cleveland — which is the last of the 16-strong Freedom class — and a tugboat involved during the warship’s recent christening. "No personnel injuries occurred, but there was limited damage” to the Cleveland, the Navy said, of the April 14...

The Navy that once wanted smaller, speedy warships to chase down pirates has made a speedy pivot to Russia and China — and many of those recently built ships could be retired. The U.S. Navy wants to decommission nine ships in the Freedom-class of littoral combat ships — warships that cost about $4.5 billion to build. The Navy contends in its budget proposal that the move would free up $50 million per ship annually for other priorities. But it would also reduce the size of the fleet that’s already surpassed by China in sheer numbers, something that could cause members...

Subtitle: The oldest Littoral Combat Ship on the chopping block is just seven years old. The U.S. Navy will reportedly seek to decommission between eight and 10 Freedom class Littoral Combat Ships, or LCSs, as part of its budget proposal for the 2023 Fiscal Year. This would despite the oldest example still on active duty being only seven years old. Last year, the service admitted that it would take years to implement critical fixes to the propulsion systems on all of the Freedom class vessels it has acquired to date. Politico first reported this news today, citing three individuals familiar...

An advanced U.S. Navy combat ship struck a berthed freighter in Montreal

The U.S. Navy’s newest littoral combat ship USS Montgomery has had its hull cracked for a second time after hitting a lock wall during a transit of the Panama Canal, the U.S. Navy has confirmed. The latest incident occurred Saturday, Oct. 29 during southbound transit of the Panama Canal’s old locks on its way to its homeport in San Diego

Jacksonville, FL -Big questions are surfacing about the capabilities of a new Navy ship that will play an integral role in the future of Naval Station Mayport.

There's a new ship on the horizon. And its name is Independence. The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) commemorated the launch of its newest ship, the first Littoral Mission Vessel (LMV), Independence. Held at the Singapore Technologies Marine (ST Marine) yard on 3 Jul, the launching ceremony was officiated by Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen. The LMV was launched by Mrs Ivy Ng, wife of Dr Ng. Addressing the guests at the ceremony, Dr Ng reiterated the RSN’s role in protecting Singapore's sea lines of communication, which are vital for the nation's economic well-being. He said: "It was...

The guided-missile frigate USS Curts was decommissioned Friday in a ceremony at Naval Base San Diego. The vessel, dubbed ".38 Special" by its first crew, served in Operation Desert Storm and deployed on anti-smuggling missions. The nickname is derived from its hull number, FFG 38. In the Persian Gulf War, crew members captured an Iraqi garrison on Qaruh Island, taking 51 Iraqi prisoners. The Curts crew also destroyed mines, sank an Iraqi minelayer and supported combat helicopter operations during the Battle of Bubiyan Island. ... The Navy is gradually paring down the numbers of Oliver Perry-class frigates in favor of...

The U.S. Navy has discovered "aggressive" corrosion in Austal Ltd.'s first new combat ship designed for operating close to shore. The corrosion is in the propulsion areas of the USS Independence, the Littoral Combat Ship built by the Mobile, Alabama-based subsidiary of Australia's Austal and General Dynamics Corp. "This could be a very serious setback," said Norman Polmar, an independent naval analyst and author in Alexandria, Virginia. "If the ship develops a serious flaw, you're not going to continue producing them." Permanent repair will require drydocking the ship and removing its "water jets,". Aluminum-hulled ships such as Austal's tend to...

LCS was designated by the Navy as a Level I survivability combatant ship, but neither design is expected to achieve the degree of shock hardening as required by the CDD [Capabilities Development Document]. Shock hardening (ability to sustain a level of operations following an underwater explosive attack) is required for all mission critical systems, as required by a Level 1 survivability requirement. Only a few selected subsystems will be shock hardened, supporting only mobility to evacuate a threat area following a design-level shock event. Accordingly, the full, traditional rigor of Navy-mandated ship shock trials is not achievable, due to the...

As the U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan and Iraq and land forces encounter more and more obstacles to operating — fenced in by rising insistence on sovereignty — the U.S. Navy’s role will only grow in importance, says the chief of naval operations, Adm. Gary Roughead. Roughed, speaking at a conference hosted by the University of Chicago on Capitol Hill, offered new versions of the old Marine and Navy mantra that the littoral is where it’s at globally, with at least 26 mega-cities in the littoral zone and much of the world’s production and natural resources moving across the blue oceans...

The Right Submarine for Lurking in the Littorals By Milan Vego SSKs are better designed for narrow, shallow seas than fast attack submarines. Nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) are capable of operating in shallow, confined waters-but the smaller, quieter, more maneuverable antisubmarine subs (SSKs) are better suited for operations in such waters. The U.S. Navy should acquire a relatively small number of SSKs for operations in the littorals. SSNs, which can conduct long-range operations submerged and at high sustained speed, should be used primarily in deep water. The Littoral Operating Environment The characteristics of the physical environment and weather/climate considerably affect...

May 15, 2008 With naval battles on the high seas now virtually extinct for the U.S. armed forces, the navy's role has become more one of infantry invasion and airstrike support - and with this new role comes a need for vessels more suited to littoral (just offshore) operations. The initial order was placed back in 2005, and the first delivery, the U.S.S. Independence, has just been launched, a speedy trimaran with helicopter decks, a stealthy radar profile and a healthy array of arms. It's configurable to suit a wide array of littoral combat missions, including minesweeping, anti-submarine and surface...

The surface warfare module for the U.S. Navy's new LCS (Littoral Combat Ships) will contain an unusual collection of weapons. The only familiar item will be a MH-60R (a navalized Blackhawk) helicopter, armed with a 12.7mm machine-gun and Hellfire missiles (with a range of 8 kilometers). There will be three other aircraft, all RQ-8A Fire Scout UAVs. Each of these is a 1.5 ton unmanned helicopter, that will be armed with 70mm laser guided DAGR missiles. These 25 pound missiles have a range of six kilometers. There will be two 23 foot long Spartan USVs (unmanned surface vehicles), each armed...

We’ve been hearing rumblings about the U.S. Navy’s triple-hulled ships, but here’s one that was launched last month, the U.S.S Independence. Built by General Dynamics, it’s called a “littoral combat ship” (LCS), and the trimaran can move huge weapons around faster than any ship in the Navy. Ironic that with all that high tech built in, the ship reminds us of the Merrimac ironclad from Civil War days. Littoral means close to shore, and that’s where these fleet-hulled babies will operate, tailor-made for launching helicopters and armored vehicles, sweeping mines and firing all manner of torpedoes, missiles and machine guns....

SAN DIEGO – The Navy has scaled back plans to build an innovative but unexpectedly costly warship set to undergo testing in San Diego this year. In the budget proposed this month, President Bush called for acquiring two Littoral Combat Ships instead of the six previously forecast. Navy officials said they want to delay construction of more littoral ships so they have enough time to test the prototypes, the Freedom and the Independence. They plan to examine the prototypes for design advantages, versatility and high-tech features. The information they gather will be incorporated into any future model of the ship....

<p>Arch Cape, Oregon) – The mysterious chunks of wood have shown up periodically over the last few decades, sticking out of the sand like doomed creatures trying to make their last, desperate escape from a dreadful fate beneath the rest of the world. They make momentary impressions on passersby, who have no clue to the real meaning of these muted witnesses to an age practically before Mankind. They are unintentional memorials to the grandiose forest that once stood here, now reduced to twisted, tortured shapes that scream silently from another epoch.</p>

A team led by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - News) has won a $5.4 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to determine the feasibility of using supercavitation technology for stable, controllable, high-speed underwater transport. The Underwater Express program is a DARPA technology research and evaluation program to establish the potential of a new technology. Supercavitation creates a gas cavity between the vehicle surface and the water, thereby reducing drag and increasing vehicle speed. The program's ultimate goal is a new class of underwater craft for littoral missions that can transport small groups of Navy personnel or...

MARINETTE, Wis., Sept. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- History was made here today when the nation's first Littoral Combat Ship, FREEDOM (LCS-1) -- the inaugural ship in an entirely new class of U.S. Navy surface warships -- was christened and launched at the Marinette Marine shipyard. The agile 377-foot FREEDOM -- designed and built by a team led by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT - News) -- will help the Navy defeat growing littoral, or close-to- shore, threats and provide access and dominance in coastal water battlespace. Displacing 3,000 metric tons and with a capability of reaching speeds well over 40 knots, FREEDOM...