{"id":17489,"date":"2014-12-17T11:00:50","date_gmt":"2014-12-17T00:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=17489"},"modified":"2014-12-18T08:53:28","modified_gmt":"2014-12-17T21:53:28","slug":"the-future-littoral-combat-ship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-future-littoral-combat-ship\/","title":{"rendered":"The future littoral combat ship"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a><\/figure>\n

In one of his last major decisions in office, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has decided to continue production of the two Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) designs.<\/a> The US Navy had been directed to examine alternatives to provide the final 20 hulls of the full 52-ship concept. Secretary Hagel had serious concerns over what was being provided with the LCS and sought a more capable and \u2018tougher\u2019 small surface combatant. And he had reason for those concerns. While the two high-speed ship designs represent, within limits, some of the latest thinking on hull forms, the LCS has\u2014to this point\u2014possessed only token military capability. The poorly-armed and sensor-deprived LCS sacrifices a great deal for its high speed, including range and, arguably, damage resistance. Both designs displace as much as many conventional-hull frigates (Freedom <\/em>displaces 3354 tons and Independence<\/em> 2841 tons) and they aren’t really \u2018small\u2019 ships in the eyes of any navy other than the USN. The modular ideals for sensor and weapon packages have yet to be realised in any significant way, being largely focused so far on embarked fast boats, UAVs and boarding parties.<\/p>\n

Still, at a time when the USN has serious concerns over total hull numbers in the fleet and so much has already been invested in the LCS project, it\u2019s no surprise that continuation of the LCS program has been chosen over any of the 18 alternative designs which the USN considered. Whether that would have been the case had the navy been starting with a blank sheet of paper must remain a moot point.<\/p>\n

The modified units are likely to carry\u2014in addition to the 57mm gun already in the design and the weapons such as the short-range RAM anti-air and HELLFIRE anti-ship missiles that are part of the existing plans for weapon packages\u2014an over-the-horizon anti-ship missile, an upgraded three-dimensional radar and electronic-warfare equipment, together with a towed-array sonar and torpedo countermeasures. Internal armour will be installed, and there\u2019ll be renewed efforts at signature reduction. The USN is claiming that the ships will cost US$60 to 75 million more than the original, Flight 0, versions of the LCS but it should be emphasised that this almost certainly relates to the hull, propulsion and hotel systems and not to the mission packages. While the USN is quick to emphasise that the original LCS have come in at under US$500 million per unit, that figure doesn\u2019t include the expensive weapons and sensors that represent a significant proportion of the real cost of any modern combatant.<\/p>\n

The USN will also consider what in the new package can be retrofitted to the Flight 0 fleet. Although many of those units are likely to have a primary mine-countermeasure role, they represent too large a proportion of the future fleet to be left in their current state. The LCS will no doubt represent an important element in the USN\u2019s forward presence for many decades. As with other troubled ships and systems in the past, there\u2019s little doubt that it\u2019ll be made to work and probably work well. Whether it was what the Americans really needed at the start, however, is another thing.<\/p>\n

James Goldrick is a fellow of the RAN\u2019s Sea Power Centre and\u00a0an adjunct professor at UNSW Canberra, Australian Defence Force Academy.\u00a0Image courtesy Flickr user US Navy<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In one of his last major decisions in office, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has decided to continue production of the two Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) designs. The US Navy had been directed to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":17496,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[33,1080,289,663],"class_list":["post-17489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-capability","tag-littoral-combat-ship","tag-us-navy","tag-weapon-systems"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe future littoral combat ship | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-future-littoral-combat-ship\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The future littoral combat ship | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In one of his last major decisions in office, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has decided to continue production of the two Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) designs. The US Navy had been directed to ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-future-littoral-combat-ship\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-12-17T00:00:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-12-17T21:53:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/7739945770_e656c3840c_z.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"427\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James Goldrick\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James Goldrick\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-future-littoral-combat-ship\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/7739945770_e656c3840c_z.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/7739945770_e656c3840c_z.jpg\",\"width\":640,\"height\":427,\"caption\":\"The Fort Worth departs Marinette Marine Corp. shipyard.\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-future-littoral-combat-ship\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-future-littoral-combat-ship\/\",\"name\":\"The future littoral combat ship | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-future-littoral-combat-ship\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-12-17T00:00:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-12-17T21:53:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/a9ee56242a6eb913591d14a06b13f9be\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-future-littoral-combat-ship\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-future-littoral-combat-ship\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-future-littoral-combat-ship\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The future littoral combat ship\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/a9ee56242a6eb913591d14a06b13f9be\",\"name\":\"James Goldrick\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/009826d42ec0f0972bfc27d573118e26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/009826d42ec0f0972bfc27d573118e26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James Goldrick\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/james-goldrick\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The future littoral combat ship | The Strategist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-future-littoral-combat-ship\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The future littoral combat ship | The Strategist","og_description":"In one of his last major decisions in office, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has decided to continue production of the two Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) designs. The US Navy had been directed to ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-future-littoral-combat-ship\/","og_site_name":"The Strategist","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org","article_published_time":"2014-12-17T00:00:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-12-17T21:53:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":427,"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/7739945770_e656c3840c_z.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"James Goldrick","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ASPI_org","twitter_site":"@ASPI_org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James Goldrick","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/","name":"The Strategist","description":"ASPI's analysis and commentary site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-future-littoral-combat-ship\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/7739945770_e656c3840c_z.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/7739945770_e656c3840c_z.jpg","width":640,"height":427,"caption":"The Fort Worth departs Marinette Marine Corp. shipyard."},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-future-littoral-combat-ship\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-future-littoral-combat-ship\/","name":"The future littoral combat ship | The Strategist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-future-littoral-combat-ship\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2014-12-17T00:00:50+00:00","dateModified":"2014-12-17T21:53:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/a9ee56242a6eb913591d14a06b13f9be"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-future-littoral-combat-ship\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-future-littoral-combat-ship\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-future-littoral-combat-ship\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The future littoral combat ship"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/a9ee56242a6eb913591d14a06b13f9be","name":"James Goldrick","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/009826d42ec0f0972bfc27d573118e26?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/009826d42ec0f0972bfc27d573118e26?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"James Goldrick"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/james-goldrick\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17489"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17489"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17570,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17489\/revisions\/17570"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}