Tag Archives: USS Freedom

Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) will likely hold hearings on the state of the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship. AP Photo

Forbes Wants ‘Intensive Oversight’ On LCS, Hearings Likely

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Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) will likely hold hearings on the state of the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship. AP Photo

Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) will likely hold hearings on the state of the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship. AP Photo

Congress will likely hold hearings on the state of the Littoral Combat Ship program, Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) , the chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection forces, told reporters on Tuesday.

“We are going to do some intensive oversight of this program, which will include hearings,” Forbes said in a report from Reuters.

The hearings are prompted by an anticipated Government Accountability Office report that will likely advise Congress to slow down acquisition of the program so the ships and the planned mission packages.

“I have felt that LCS had bumps in the road but it was moving. The only thing that’s really raising this flag is what this GAO report may or may not say,” Forbes said.

Excerpts of a draft GAO LCS report have appeared in several press outlets. The draft recommends Congress slow down acquisition of the ships and the mission packages pending further study.

“The apparent disconnect between the LCS acquisition strategy and the needs of the end user suggests that a pause is needed,” a draft of the GAO report was quoted in a Friday Bloomberg story. “Congress is in a position to slow funding… pending the results of the technical studies that are already underway.”

The U.S. Navy currently plans to acquire 52 LCS hulls to round out the low-end of the Navy’s surface combatant roster. The two hulls being built — Lockheed Martin’s Freedom-class and Austal USA’s Independence-class — are part of a dual acquisition strategy formulated in 2010. After a fierce competition between Austal’s aluminum trimaran and Lockheed’s steel mono-hull design, the Navy elected to buy both versions in a deal for 20 ships with an estimated value of $8.9 billion.

In addition to four ships the Navy funded outside of the 2010 deal, the Navy’s current plan is to buy 24 ships with both hulls.

In November, Vice Adm. Tom Copeman, commander of U.S. Surface Forces, sent a classified memo to Navy leadership that advised narrowing down to a single LCS design modified to carry more weapons than the current version or an entirely new class of ship.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel addresses the crew of the USS Freedom (LCS 1) in Singapore, June 2, 2013. Department of Defense Photo

SECDEF Hagel High on LCS Amidst GAO Critique

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Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel addresses the crew of the USS Freedom (LCS 1) in Singapore, June 2, 2013. Department of Defense Photo

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel addresses the crew of the USS Freedom (LCS 1) in Singapore on June 2, 2013. Department of Defense Photo

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel spoke highly of the Littoral Combat Ship program and forward deployment over the weekend despite reports that the Government Accountability Office will advise Congress to slow procurement of the ships and mission packages, according to a Friday report from Bloomberg.

“We appreciate your good work,” Hagel told the crew of USS Freedom (LCS-1) said. “What you represent to our country and our partnerships in the Asia-Pacific I don’t think can be overstated. You are really defining a new era of partnership.”

Over the weekend Hagel praised the planned forward deployment four LCS as part of the Pentagon’s rebalance to the Pacific as part of the International Institute for Strategic Studies Asia Security Summit — also known as the Shangri-La dialogue. Read More →

USS Freedom (LCS 1) gets underway. Freedom is underway as part of the Republic of Singapore Navy's Western Pacific Multi-lateral Sea Exercise (WMSX). US Navy Photo

USS Freedom Suffers Coolant Problems, Returns to Port

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USS Freedom (LCS 1) gets underway. Freedom is underway as part of the Republic of Singapore Navy's Western Pacific Multi-lateral Sea Exercise (WMSX). US Navy Photo

USS Freedom (LCS 1) gets underway on May, 17. Freedom is underway as part of the Republic of Singapore Navy’s Western Pacific Multi-lateral Sea Exercise (WMSX). US Navy Photo

The Navy’s first littoral combat ship — USS Freedom (LCS-1) — has suffered a maintenance issue forcing it back to port during its first extended underway from Singapore, according to reports from Defense News and Aviation Week. Read More →

The littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) arrives at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam for a scheduled port visit. US Navy Photo

New LCS Sonar and Missile to be Competed Next Year

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The littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) arrives at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam for a scheduled port visit. US Navy Photo

The littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) arrives at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam for a scheduled port visit. US Navy Photo

In the next year the Navy will begin competition for the follow on sonar and surface-to-surface missile system for the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Surface Warfare (SuW) mission packages of the Littoral Combat Ship, Capt. John Ailes, head of the LCS mission module program for Naval Sea Systems Command said at a briefing at the Navy League Sea Air Space Exposition 2013 at National Harbor, Md. Read More →

USS Freedom (LCS 1) arrives at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on March, 11 2013. US Navy Photo

Analysis: Navy Doesn’t Know What it Wants with LCS

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USS Freedom (LCS 1) arrives at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on March, 11 2013. US Navy Photo

USS Freedom (LCS 1) arrives at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on March, 11 2013. US Navy Photo

Christopher P. Cavas’ much-discussed March, 18 Defense News story about the recommendations of Vice Adm. Tom Copeman revealed that even one of the Navy’s top surface warriors has become something of a littoral combat ship (LCS) skeptic, given his reported willingness to recommend a major course correction for the program.
The Navy’s LCS never has had a shortage of skeptics, but for a long time they seemed to be a minority in the surface-warfare world, on the outside looking in. Until now. Read More →

Capt. Kenneth Coleman when he was commander of the USS Independence (LCS-2). SWONet Photo

Former LCS CO Talks Singapore Deployment

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Capt. Kenneth Coleman when he was commander of the USS Independence (LCS-2). SWONet Photo

Capt. Kenneth Coleman when he was commander of the USS Independence (LCS-2). SWONet Photo

Capt. Kenneth Coleman knows more about the Littoral Combat Ship program than most any sailor. Currently Coleman works at U.S. Surface Forces as requirements officer for the LCS program and from April 2010 to Sept. 2011, he was the commander of the Blue crew of USS Independence (LCS-2). USNI News recently interviewed Coleman on the latest of the deployment of USS Freedom (LCS-1). Coleman discussed manning changes for the ship, how the ships will be maintained while deployed and what it’s like for a ship commander to do his own dishes. Read More →

Sean Stackley at a June 15, 2012 ceremony at the Pentagon. U.S. Navy Photo

Navy Defends Monday’s LCS Contract Award

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Sean Stackley at a June 15, 2012 ceremony at the Pentagon. U.S. Navy Photo

Sean Stackley at a June 15, 2012 ceremony at the Pentagon. U.S. Navy Photo

The U.S. Navy’s chief shipbuilder is defending Monday’s $1.4 billion awards for the next four Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) in the midst of the current congressional battle over military funding, the service told USNI News on Monday. Read More →

Birth of the Littoral Combat Ship

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Proceedings, September 2012
In a series of 1990s simulations, the LCS concept was born; the Strait of Hormuz was the hypothetical scenario, and ‘the fight against sea and shore’ became the mantra.

The first of class littoral combat ships USS Freedom (LCS 1), rear, and USS Independence (LCS 2) maneuver together during an exercise off the coast of Southern California on May, 2 2012.U.S. Navy Photo.

The first of class littoral combat ships USS Freedom (LCS 1), rear, and USS Independence (LCS 2) maneuver together during an exercise off the coast of Southern California on May, 2 2012.
U.S. Navy Photo.

The recent findings of the Perez Report and related coverage in Defense News enumerated significant problems with the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). It therefore seems worthwhile at this point to take a look at how the LCS was conceived and ask, “Is it up to the tasks it could soon face?”

In the mid-1990s, the Navy conducted a series of war games in which the LCS concept was born. The wargaming process was called the Joint Multi-Warfare Analytical Game (JMAG). The computer models included all areas of joint forces: command-and-control, intelligence, environment, political-military actions, land warfare, air warfare, sea warfare (including antiair, antisurface, antisubmarine, mine warfare and mine countermeasures), and special warfare. JMAG employed experienced subject-matter experts (SMEs) at the flag/general level in all the services for “Blue” and “Red” forces.

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