Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program on April, 9 2014. A copy of the speech, as prepared, was provided to USNI News. Read More
Tag Archives: littoral combat ship
Littoral Combat Ship Mission Packages Safe From Budget Axe For Now
USS Independence (LCS 2) deploys a remote multi-mission vehicle (RMMV) on Aug. 22, 2013. The Navy plans to buy 18 RMMVs over the next five years. US Navy Photo
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel’s mandate capping of the first variants of the Littoral Combat Ship at 32 hulls will do little to limit the acquisition of the mission packages for the Flight 0 LCS over the next five years, navy officials told USNI News last week. Read More
Griffin Missile Reaches Initial At Sea Operating Capability
Testing of the Mk-60 Patrol Costal Griffin Missile System. US Navy Image.
The missile the U.S. Navy plans to use in early versions of the Littoral Combat Ship surface warfare mission package and on Cyclone class patrol craft has reached initial operating capability (IOC) for its first use at sea, missile maker Raytheon announced Tuesday. Read More
Navy Kicks Off LCS Follow-on Study
A Lockheed Martin concept for variations of the Freedom-class LCS design from corvette to Frigate sized hulls. Lockheed Martin Photo
The Navy has outlined its next steps in an Pentagon mandated efforts to create a new type of ship to follow the 32 planned Flight 0 Littoral Combat Ships, according to a March 13 letter signed by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert and Sean Stackley, the Navy’s chief weapons buyer. Read More
U.S. Navy Pays Austal, Lockheed $1.38 Billion for Four More Littoral Combat Ships
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.
US Navy Photo.
The Navy has issued $1.38 billion in contract modifications for four Littoral Combat Ships split between shipbuilders Lockheed Martin and Austal USA, according to a Monday Pentagon contract announcement. Read More
Hagel Defends Littoral Combat Ship Cap
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Department of Defense Comptroller Robert Hale testify before the House Armed Service Committee on March 6, 2014. Department of Defense Photo.
Defending the decision to cap the littoral combat ship (LCS) buy at 32, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Wednesday “it was a big, big question whether we want a sixth of our Navy” in those vessels. Read More
Navy Zeroes Out Fire Scout Buy, Future of Program Unclear
An MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle takes off from Naval Base Ventura County at Point Mugu on Oct. 31, 2013. US Navy Photo
The Navy has abandoned its plans to buy 17 additional Northrop Grumman Fire Scout rotary wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the next five years as part of its Fiscal Year 2015 budget submission. Read More
Opinion: What the Navy Can Learn from Golf
A sailors hits golf balls in an inflatable driving range during a Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) event in the hangar bay of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) in 2012. US Navy Photo
Golfers may not realize it, but they have a keen understanding of combined arms.
I’m not a particularly good golfer myself. Some may suggest what I do is not actually “playing golf,” but I know well enough not to use a putter in the sand trap or use my sand wedge from the tee and certainly not buy any club that claims to cover all those situations. Read More
LCS Program Faces Additional Scrutiny from Congress
The littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) arrives at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam in March enroute to Singapore. US Navy Photo
At least one Congress member is expected to try and slow development of the Littoral Combat Ship program during debate this week over the Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act, according to a report in Defense Daily.
The LCS backlash follows the leak of a draft copy of a Government Accountability Office report that called for Congress to slow development of ship construction and the accompanying mission packages. Read More
Analysis: The U.S. Navy’s High-Low Mix
USS Nicholas (FFG-47) departs Souda Bay, Greece harbor following a port visit on Feb. 11, 2013. US Navy Photo.
Interaction with partner navies around the world is a centerpiece of “A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Sea Power,” the document that guides U.S. Navy maritime operations. One of the strategic imperatives in that directive demands that the Navy “[f]oster and sustain cooperative relationships with more international partners.” That task is extraordinarily difficult because of the disparity between U.S. ships and partner vessels in size and capabilities.
The recent decision to retire seven aging Aegis cruisers eases the disparity to some extent, but also highlights an ongoing debate about the future of the naval force structure. Those seven cruisers are in addition to the five Ticonderoga-class ships scheduled for decommissioning in 2013 and the six Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates also designated to leave the fleet this year. The retirement of the frigates raises old issues. The current naval construction program will replace the “low-end” warships with littoral combat ships (LCSs). The Navy needs the high-low mix across the spectrum of tactical mission areas, but how can this best be achieved?
A new book by former deputy undersecretary of the Navy Seth Cropsey stirs this boiling pot. Read More
