Littoral Combat Ships (LCS)

S

steve_rolfe

Junior Member
This is a copy from 'Janes' on the subject:-

Carter directs US Navy to cut LCS, frigate numbers while boosting aircraft procurement
Grace Jean, Washington, DC - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
17 December 2015


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The USN's LCSs USS Freedom (LCS 1) and USS Independence (LCS 2) manoeuvre together off the California coast in 2012. Source: US Navy
Key Points
  • The USN will acquire only 40 LCSs/frigates while downselecting to one variant in FY 2019
  • Carter's directive boosts the acquisition of F-35C and F/A-18E/F fighters as well as SM-6 missiles
US secretary of defence Ashton Carter has instructed the US Navy (USN) to reduce its planned fleet of Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs) and follow-on frigates in favour of more fighters and munitions.

In a memo addressed to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, seen by IHS Jane's on 17 December, Carter said the USN will reduce its planned procurement of 52 LCSs and frigates to a fleet of 40 by downselecting to a single variant in fiscal year 2019 (FY 2019).

The USN was in the midst of acquiring a fleet of 32 LCSs with plans to transition to a 20-ship frigate acquisition effort in FY 2019 based upon a modified Flight 0+ LCS design. Two LCS variants are being procured: the Freedom variant, a steel monohull produced by an industry team led by Lockheed Martin Corp, and the Independence variant, an aluminium trimaran produced by Austal USA.

Now the navy will acquire 12 fewer small surface combatants overall, with eight fewer LCSs/frigates in the FY 2017-21 timeframe, also known as the Future Years Defence Plan (FYDP). Until 14 December, when Carter circulated his memo, the USN had been planning to acquire three LCSs in FY 2017 and three LCSs in FY 2018, and two frigates in FY 2019. Carter's plan allows for procurement of one ship per year from FY 2017-20, and two ships in FY 2021.

"This plan reduces, somewhat, the number of LCSs available for presence operations, but that need will be met by higher-end ships, and it will ensure that the warfighting forces in our submarine, surface, and aviation fleets have the necessary capabilities and posture to defeat even our most advanced potential adversaries," Carter stated in the memo.
 
Jeff Head

Jeff Head

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Naval Today said:
The U.S. Navy announced the christening ceremony of the newest Independence-variant littoral combat ship, USS Omaha (LCS 12), in Mobile, Alabama, December 19.

Omaha, designated LCS 12, honors the city of Omaha, Nebraska.

Ray Mabus, secretary of the Navy, who will serve as principal speaker, said: “More than 4,000 American craftsmen have made this ship possible, craftsmen from Mobile and all around the country, making components of the ship and its systems.”

The ship was built by Austal USA on the company’s Mobile, Alabama shipyard. USS Omaha was
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on November 22, 2015 as the sixth Independence-variant LCS and as the Nation’s twelfth littoral combat ship overall.
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Good to see the numbers building.

I am confidant that these vessels will ultimately be upgraded and perform their duties well. I see the Independence variety being more MCM, escorts withjin ARGs, and patrol vessels where LCS duties may require facing off against swarming attacks.

I see the Freedom class variety being more used as ASW escorts for CSGs, as a part of SAGs, and patrol vessels where its LCS duties might lend more to pier and near pier individual face offs in the Littorals.

Time will tell.
 
FORBIN

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
Firstly very damage the last problem with the Milwaukee which seems enough iportant, several weeks minimum for repair ! damage because LCS work good since about 2/3 years and cracks initial problems due to the very high speeds and aluminium corrosion for Independence were solved.

Navy announce :
USS Detroit (LCS 7) and USS Montgomery (LCS 8) are scheduled to be homeported at Naval Base San Diego following their commissioning in summer 2016.
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Very logicaly with LCS 1/6 to San Diego for complete Sqn 1 with 8 LCS and after new Sqn 2 begin to receive.

Deployment, update :

San Diego, Littoral Combat Ship Squadron 1
Now :
Freedom ( LCS 1 ), Independence ( LCS 2 ), Fort Worth ( LCS 3 ), Coronado ( LCS 4 )
Arrive in 2016 :
Milwaukee ( LCS 5 ), Jackson ( LCS 6 ), Detroit ( LCS 7 ), Montgomery ( LCS 8 ).

Mayport, Littoral Combat Ship Squadron 2 created in 2016 :
Receive 8 LCS also whose 6 yet known, all Freedom class : Little Rock (LCS 9 ), Sioux City ( LCS 11 ), Wichita ( LCS 13 ), Billings (LCS 15 ), Indianapolis ( LCS 17 ) and St. Louis ( LCS 19 ) later he receive 2 others possible Independence Class.

Futur units :
One Littoral Combat Ship Squadron to Bahrain with normaly 8 LCS.
One Littoral Combat Ship Squadron to Singapour/Changi with normaly 4 LCS.

And after minimum 12 to delivered for others Littoral Combat Ship Squadrons.
 
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Jura The idiot

Jura The idiot

General
Dec 19, 2015
Jura said:
(the unclassified version of) the most recent GAO report
"LITTORAL COMBAT SHIP
Knowledge of Survivability and Lethality Capabilities Needed Prior to Making Major Funding Decisions"
became available at:
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and starts with
"The lethality and survivability of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is still largely unproven,
6 years after delivery of the lead ships. LCS was designed with reduced requirements as compared to other surface combatants, and the Navy has since lowered several survivability and lethality requirements and removed several design features—making the ship both less survivable in its expected threat environments and less lethal than initially planned. The Navy is compensating for this by redefining how it plans to operate the ships."
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LOL ignored here, not by NavalToday though:
GAO: US Navy’s LCS still largely unproven
GAO, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, issued a report which said the lethality and survivability of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) were still largely unproven, six years after delivery of the lead ships.

It said that the U.S. Navy had lowered several survivability and lethality requirements and removed several design features—making the ship both less survivable in its expected threat environments and less lethal than initially planned. GAO also said the Navy was compensating for this by redefining how it plans to operate the ships.

In 2014, the Navy conducted its first operational test of an early increment of the surface warfare mission package on a Freedom variant LCS, demonstrating that LCS could meet an interim lethality requirement. The Navy declared LCS operationally effective.

According to DAO, the Navy’s test report stated that the ship did not meet some key requirements. Further, the Department of Defense’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation has stated that there is insufficient data to provide statistical confidence that LCS can meet its lethality requirements in future testing or operations, and further testing is needed to demonstrate both variants can meet requirements in varied threat environments.

The Navy also has not yet demonstrated that LCS will achieve its survivability requirements, and does not plan to complete survivability assessments until 2018—after more than 24 ships are either in the fleet or under construction.

The Navy has identified unknowns related to the use of aluminum and the hull of the Independence variant, and plans to conduct testing in these areas in 2015 and 2016. However, the Navy does not plan to fully determine how the Independence variant will react to an underwater explosion.

GAO further said this variant also sustained some damage in a trial in rough sea conditions, but the Navy is still assessing the cause and severity of the damage and GAO has not been provided with a copy of the test results. Results from air defense and cybersecurity testing also indicate concerns, but specific details are classified.

In February 2014 the former Secretary of Defense directed the Navy to assess options for a small surface combatant with more survivability and combat capability than LCS. The Navy conducted a study and recommended modifying the LCS to add additional survivability and lethality features.

After approving the Navy’s recommendation, the former Secretary of Defense directed the Navy to submit a new acquisition strategy for a modified LCS for his approval. He also directed the Navy to assess the cost and feasibility of backfitting lethality and survivability enhancements on current LCS.

Nevertheless, the Navy has established a new frigate program office to manage this program, and the Navy has requested $1.4 billion for three LCS in the fiscal year 2016 President’s budget, even though it is clear that the current ships fall short of identified survivability and lethality needs. GAO has an ongoing review of the Navy’s small surface combatant study and future plans for the LCS program.

As a response to these issues, the GAO recommended Congress to delay funding for fiscal year 2016 LCS until the Navy submits a completed rough water trials report, acquisition strategy, and backfit plan; and consider not fully funding some or all LCS procurement pending analysis of these documents and the final survivability assessments.

Additionally, the current U.S. Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter on December 14,
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, Ray Mabus, to cut the LCS to 40 units and choose only one shipbuilder. Carter said that funds saved should be directed at the acquisition of other Navy assets like aircraft and armament.
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source:
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Jura The idiot

Jura The idiot

General
according to NavyTimes
LCS grows fangs by adding anti-ship missiles in 2016
The littoral combat ship is going to grow teeth in 2016 when ships Freedom and Coronado are armed with over-the-horizon anti-ship missiles.

Both ships will deploy next year with either the venerable Harpoon missile or the Naval Strike Missile, a Norwegian-developed missile with a greater range than 100 nautical miles.

The missiles will likely be strapped onto the decks of the ships in box launchers and not fully integrated into the ship's combat system, as officials try to demonstrate arming the LCS with longer-range weapons..

The addition of anti-ship missiles on LCS come after years of criticism that the ships lack firepower. The surface Navy has been seeking ways to put some bite back in the fleet as other nations such as Russia and China develop longer-range weapons designed to keep the U.S. fleet at arm's length.

Freedom, the mono-hull version of the LCS, is slated to relieve her sister ship Fort Worth in Singapore next year. Coronado is set to make the first deployment for the tri-hull version LCS next year.

Also in 2016, Littoral Combat Ship Squadron 2 based in Mayport, Florida, will get its first hull, the Little Rock, with two more coming each year. Mayport will ultimately home port eight of the mono-hull versions of LCS.
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Jura The idiot

Jura The idiot

General
the BreakingDefence point of view:
The Littoral Combat Ship, however, will be plying some choppy waters in 2016. Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s Dec. 14 direction to
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and go to a single variant for the final eight “
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” ships will potentially leave one of the ship’s two builders with no new ships after 2019 and the other builder with a substantially reduced workload. Although it reduces overseas presence in the 2020s by six ships, Carter’s decision is consistent with his emphasis on new high-end capabilities — part of a “Third Offset Strategy” — to deter competitors such as China and Russia. It also helps DoD address a $17 billion shortfall for FY 2017.

The Navy did itself no favors in the Littoral Combat Ship debate, however, with its choice to make the frigate upgrade
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. Without the capability of a
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to conduct air defense of ships it escorts or to operate unaccompanied in high threat environments, the LCS “frigate” was not going to be able to contribute to the Offset Strategy or add significantly to the fleet’s firepower. Expect this debate to churn through 2016 when Congress takes up the FY2017 budget as members seek to
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and the Navy looks for opportunities to further improve the frigate and make it more attractive to a future administration.

In the end, the truncation of the Littoral Combat Ship may be good for the Navy. It enables investment in key capabilities for the future, and the reduction in small combatant capacity could be made up in future ship construction budgets. For example, one potential outcome would be to base the single frigate variant on the
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built by Marinette Shipbuilding in Wisconsin. This variant could be upgraded with a Vertical Launch System (VLS) magazine, the multi-purpose missile launcher standard on Aegis destroyers, an upgrade which would leverage Saudi Arabia’s investment in a modified Freedom-class LCS for their Eastern Fleet. Congress could then add more Expeditionary Fast Transports (aka JHSV) to the budget to be constructed by Austal in Alabama — which currently builds
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— to provide capacity for presence operations at relatively low cost.
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the Saudi part is funny ... could, would, then ...
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Jeff Head

Jeff Head

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Jura said:
the BreakingDefence point of view: the Saudi part is funny ... could, would, then ...
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Yes...we know all of the counter and negative pints ad infinitum.

Seriously, Jura, we also know of your own issues with the program.

Most of us shared many of those concerns. But now that some decisions have been made to try and address the issues, let's at least give it a chance to address them.

Adding the HArpoons is a good first step....we have all clamored for it for a long time..

Was the final decision everything I hoped for or wanted? Certainly not.

But at this point I think the up arming of the LCS, and the production of the FFS is going to produce a group of modern, fast, stealthy frigates that have enough capability to get the job done.

Time will tell.
 
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Jura The idiot

Jura The idiot

General
Jeff Head said:
Yes...we know all of the counter and negative pints ad infinitum.

Seriously, Jura, ...
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... did I sound harsh? I'm sorry then, but in fact I'm a fan of the US Navy, I could name you its dreadnought right from the Florida-class etc. etc. I'm critical about the LCSs just because I wish they become as strong as possible (since in the future they'll form the backbone of the US surface forces other than CVGB and ABMD related, heck, in some role they even might be part of CVGB and ABMD groups)!
This is going to be my last 2016 post, so Jeff, I wish you Happy New Year!
Your Armchair Admiral :)
 
Jeff Head

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
Jura said:
... did I sound harsh? I'm sorry then, but in fact I'm a fan of the US Navy, I could name you its dreadnought right from the Florida-class etc. etc. I'm critical about the LCSs just because I wish they become as strong as possible (since in the future they'll form the backbone of the US surface forces other than CVGB and ABMD related, heck, in some role they even might be part of CVGB and ABMD groups)!
This is going to be my last 2016 post, so Jeff, I wish you Happy New Year!
Your Armchair Admiral :)
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Not harsh, Jura, just repetitive on some things we have hashed out over and over again. I am hoping we can give the well known issues a rest and see how the new plans and upgrades impact them for the good. We are aleready6 seeing some of that with the addition of the Harpoons..

I believe the LCS/FF fleet will ultimately be a very capable asset to the US Navy.

But it will not be the bulk of the fleet.

There are going to be far more Burke class destroyers in their various flights than the LCS were ever contemplated...and those Burkes, while capable of ABMD, will not be dedicated to it and will perform their other multi-role capabilities at the same time.

Even if two of them are assigned to every carrier deployed, that will mean that there are around 60 or more of them available for other duties.

Happy New Year to you too my friend, I hope and pray God's richest blessings of health, prosperity and peace for you.
 
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