Littoral Combat Ships

[jlvfr]

All 4 LCS turned into test ships.

[surfgun]

LCS 13 Wichita is to be launched on September 17th.

http://seapowermagazine.org/stories/...5-wichita.html

[tbm3fan]

LCS 13 Wichita is to be launched on September 17th.

http://seapowermagazine.org/stories/...5-wichita.html

A new witch...

[Monash]

LCS 13 Wichita is to be launched on September 17th.

http://seapowermagazine.org/stories/...5-wichita.html

Quoting from the attached article:

"Plagued by cost overruns, design and survivability issues, the planned LCS fleet has been winnowed from an original projected force of 52 ships. To fill that gap, the Pentagon has announced a multi-mission frigate."

Its starting to sound like the Navy is losing its appetite for the LCS program and has decided to go with a 'proper' or more conventional frigate design. What chance they decide to cut their loses and pursue other options (say a modified EPF) or just try and get the LCS mine hunting suit up and running and buy just enough of them for this primary role and maybe anti-piracy work as a secondary task.

[surfgun]

LCS 8 Montgomery suffers an engineering casualty .

https://news.usni.org/2016/09/16/lit...rs-engineering

[jlvfr]

LCS 8 Montgomery suffers an engineering casualty .

https://news.usni.org/2016/09/16/lit...rs-engineering

... seriously?!

[SteveDaPirate]

Wow another one? I'm wondering how much of this is the engineering in the ships and how much is operator error with the weird manning.

My hunch is that it is largely the manning system they cooked up since both classes of LCS have been afflicted by repeated engineering casualties and their internal stuff has different designs.

[surfgun]

I"m thinking about designing some art using all of the surpluse damaged gear sets out of these blenders known as the LCS!

[tbm3fan]

LCS 8 Montgomery suffers an engineering casualty .

https://news.usni.org/2016/09/16/lit...rs-engineering

Gotta say that is one stupid looking ship from above. Makes me want to send a torpedo on it's way towards the forward 1/3.

[surfgun]

An updated report on LCS 8 engineering casualty.

https://news.usni.org/2016/09/16/lit...rs-engineering

[surfgun]

Video: launch of Wichita.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b_wnwFpw26g

[surfgun]

Here is some food for thought.

http://gcaptain.com/photos-show-cata...issile-attack/

[jlvfr]

Here is some food for thought.

http://gcaptain.com/photos-show-cata...issile-attack/

Wooooow...

[Tankersteve]

Whew

Here is some food for thought.

http://gcaptain.com/photos-show-cata...issile-attack/

Makes me wonder about the aluminium in the Independence-class. Also, while acknowledging how little I know about ship damage control, it is kind of impressive that she didn't burn to the waterline.

Tankerstev

[kato]

Also, while acknowledging how little I know about ship damage control

Swift was built to civilian standards and pretty much didn't have any builtin damage control. Aluminium vs anti-ship missiles is a thing since the Falklands.

Missile was likely a C-802. Threat scenario - for LCS - should be seen with a bit of a grain of salt, given the Houthi aren't exactly some backwater militia. Where others would resort to suicide bombers these guys instead have been firing upgraded SCUDs at Saudi military targets several hundred miles behind the front quite regularly over the past 18 months. And with far more success than say Iraq in '91. These ain't the kinda guys where the USN would send a LCS. At least not alone.