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Lessons for the Navy's New Frigate From the Littoral Combat Ship - War on the Rocks:
Since their inception over a decade ago, the U.S. Navy's littoral combat ships have been plagued by cost overruns, frequent breakdowns, and an ever-changing mission set. As the former navigator of the USS Coronado, the second littoral combat ship of the Independence-class, I experienced firsthand how these ill-conceived vessels impacted sailors. Recently, the U.S. Navy selected a variant of the Italian-made European multi-purpose frigate to revitalize its stock of surface combatants, which, given the ship's design is already in use by NATO navies, is a promising sign. However, as its newest class of warships begins construction and as the Navy continues to formulate its training and crewing structures, it should take stock in the lessons learned from its ongoing struggle with the littoral combat ship.
During my nearly three-year tenure in the program, I heard a range of derisive substitutes for the littoral combat ship acronym, LCS. "Let's Change Something" and "Little Circus Show" were common and among the more polite. Indeed, the program has largely been dismissed by insiders, and even by its own sailors, as a $30 billion failure. As the navigator of the USS Coronado from 2018 to 2020, I spent much of my time struggling with the ship's many shortcomings. On one occasion our vessel's propulsion lost all power in the middle of San Diego Bay and we were saved from grounding in the city's downtown only by an emergency anchorage. The Coronado, along with the other first three littoral combat ships, have proven so disastrous that the Navy announced their early decommissioning next year.
[...] How can the Navy redeem itself with the new guided-missile frigate class, or FFG(X), which seeks to fill the hole of small surface combatants left by the fledgling littoral combat ship? By selecting the Italian-designed FREMM frigate, the Navy has already taken a positive step. Littoral combat ships were originally conceived as part of a radical concept of operations: fast and customizable combatants that could operate in near-shore environments and meet a range of missions from minesweeping to anti-submarine warfare. In short, they were warships designed to face the asymmetrical threats of the 21st century. In the end, however, the customizable modules were deemed impractical and the ships were delivered with few weapons and no capability to detect mines or submarines. Furthermore, the Independence-class littoral combat ships were designed after high-speed ferries and featured aluminum hulls, waterjet propulsion, and empty compartments for a yet-to-be-chosen missile. In order to defend itself on deployment, the Coronado had to be retrofitted with harpoon missile cannisters on its bow. These were dubious choices for warships that were meant to cross the Pacific Ocean and fight independently at sea.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 06 2020, @06:27AM (3 children)
Why am I thinking that all the failures of the US Navy have been due to the Runaway1956, and sailors after him, and really bad decisions on software that can result in a Blue Watery Death, instead of just a blue screen of death? Makes you think, who are the saboteurs and double agents, and the Runaways, working to destroy America, just as they did when they were active duty, and not too bright.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 06 2020, @07:10AM (1 child)
Belly-Button Logic Works!
(Score: 3, Funny) by SpockLogic on Sunday September 06 2020, @12:31PM
The U.S. Navy's littoral combat ships must have been designed by The Office of Naval Contemplation.
Overreacting is one thing, sticking your head up your ass hoping the problem goes away is another - edIII
(Score: 4, Touché) by PinkyGigglebrain on Sunday September 06 2020, @04:10PM
at a guess, you forgot to take your meds today.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Sunday September 06 2020, @06:58AM (1 child)
You never decommission early, you double down and sell them to your allies [wikipedia.org]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 3, Interesting) by driverless on Monday September 07 2020, @02:59AM
The problem is that there's too much competition out there from ships that fulfil that role and do a pretty good job of it. A number of countries that have navies kept to sensible proportionate sizes and budgets are largely made up of vessels that would be probably be classed as littoral combat ships in the US, e.g. Germany, Sweden, Italy, and they've been selling them worldwide for years, e.g. the Blohm&Voss MEKO 200 class and similar.
Another problem, as enunciated by Kelly Johnson in his "never do business with the Navy" dictum and described by Ben Rich in his Skunkworks book is that you never want to get involved in a project with the US Navy. For those who haven't read the book, an illustrative example: In the Sea Shadow, the Navy insisted on a design change to add a paint locker. It didn't matter that there was nothing to paint, and in particular you definitely didn't want to slap paint over the RAM, the US Constitution had a paint locker and if that was needed in 1797 then it was also needed today, dammit!
And that's why you never do business with the Navy. Buy off-the-shelf Made in Germany instead.
(Score: 2) by Mojibake Tengu on Sunday September 06 2020, @07:04AM (4 children)
Littoral... certainly not for independent fight at sea.
The ship seems very well equipped for naval invasions, though.
Did you ran out of invadable countries or what?
The edge of 太玄 cannot be defined, for it is beyond every aspect of design
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday September 06 2020, @01:11PM
and your first sentence is
(Score: 4, Informative) by choose another one on Sunday September 06 2020, @02:23PM (2 children)
Unless it is for coastal defence only (or invading neighbours that you can get to overland) it will need to cross seas and oceans to get to it's target, with the possibly of a fight on the way, it seems it is not very good at that. Basing the design on ferries may not have been the greatest idea...
Mostly though it seems that military procurement once again fell for the old "multi-role" fallacy, i.e. if we create a jack-of-all-trades and buy a lot of them it'll be cheaper. It usually isn't, it's invariably worse at it's jobs (the master-of-none) and usually ends up costing as much as a specialist design by the time you have "customised" it for each role. The customisation part is often not built in (or not fully) to the original contract (which is why it looks cheaper) and when you go looking for it pretty much only the original mfr is capable of doing it so it's think of a number that'll make the shareholder s really happy and buy a hell of a lot of nice long trips and lunches on the expense account.
Another example is UK aircraft carriers where the MOD paid extra to procure carriers that were V/STOL capable but could be adapted for cats&traps if the F35B turned out to be, umm, a bit crap. The carriers were designed with empty space (very expensive empty space...) to fit cats&traps. Then things went like this when the F35B turned out to be a bit crap and a bit late...:
- MOD went back and said "can we have the full costing for fitting EMALS please"
- BAE said "give us, erm, £100M and we'll tell you"
- MOD - OK
- BAE (goes out to lunch a lot) "it'll be, erm, about £1Bn per ship, and erm. three years delay, is that ok?"
(Score: 1) by pTamok on Sunday September 06 2020, @04:58PM
Its a little bit more complicated that that:
https://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/cats-traps-and-claptrap-why-the-royal-navys-new-aircraft-carriers-operate-vstol-aircraft/ [savetheroyalnavy.org]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Sunday September 06 2020, @09:34PM
Being a destroyer sailor, I sort of agree with you. But, your statement is rather simplistic. The Gator Navy can cross the open ocean. Gators are less seaworthy than destroyers, true, but they are seaworthy. Where most ships of the line can intentionally navigate into storms and severe sea conditions, gators will skirt those hazards. As for fighting along the way, that is what the destroyer escorts are for.
You cannot expect that any ship is ideal for all possible missions. If the mission is to establish a beachhead from which to invade some country, a destroyer positively sucks, and cruisers would be little better. Review any marine invasion in modern history, and you will see that multiple ship types were used to accomplish a variety of missions within the campaign. Every task force is planned thoroughly, to include supply ships, transport of personnel, air defense, submarine defense, mine countermeasures, as well as control of the sea itself. A marine invasion would be totally worthless without the Gator Navy ships that can put troops ashore.
I enjoy picking at the sailors on round bottom ships, telling them that they aren't "real" sailors. Inter service rivalry is a lot of fun. But the Gator boys have a pretty tough job to do, and they do it pretty well. And, mostly without any thanks.
Again, as a destroyer man, I'll point out that virtually every headline in regards to the Navy has a photo of an aircraft carrier, and one or more aircraft. Few appreciate the less glamorous components of the Navy.
Hail to the Nibbler in Chief.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 06 2020, @07:10AM
I heard the sekrit plans for this were kept up Runaway's nethers, in case the ship were attacked on the high seas and taken by the Ruskies, or the Chicoms, or the Navy of Madagaskar. Many superiors attempted to retrieve the plans by drilling down, into the Yeoman, second class, but no attempts were successful. All we have now, are the memories, and Runaway's pro-murder and 2nd Amendment Murder journals. American national security has been compromised by Donald F. Trump, Big time.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Sunday September 06 2020, @01:03PM (3 children)
My take on what needs to be done to fix this situation:
I get that a huge part of the problem is that military procurement is really a political wealth redistribution gimmick. It doesn't have to be that way.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 06 2020, @03:35PM
> Listen to the sailors and soldiers who actually use the equipment.
The fuck would you do that?
The entrepreneurs and CEOs need to reimagine the space every few years. The Great Man will solve your problems. That's just how it is.
(Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Sunday September 06 2020, @04:16PM (1 child)
But they do deliver, the annual , uhem, "campaign contributions" are always made right on time. Sometimes even with free bonuses.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday September 07 2020, @12:55AM
(Score: 2) by Bot on Sunday September 06 2020, @07:16PM (1 child)
Maybe I can get myself a littorial ship that hasn't yet left the pork.
(all words are spelled correctly in the above sentence).
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Sunday September 06 2020, @07:19PM
Except it's spelled lictorial :D
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2) by Revek on Sunday September 06 2020, @11:47PM
http://www.mayofamily.com/RLM/txt_Clarke_Superiority.html [mayofamily.com]
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