Why the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Should be Retired
September 09, 2020
A future U.S. Navy combat ship recently completed the acceptance trials in Lake Michigan; setting the stage for its commissioning in 2021. But with a storied history of high-costs and retrofitting delays, the heavily invested Littoral Combat Ship class has reached the point where retirement should be in consideration.
The LCS was originally designed to maintain patrols of shallow coastal waters in order to free up high-end surface combatants for increased combat availability. But expectations did not manifest into reality. Nearly 16 years after the Defense contracts were first signed, the U.S. Navy is already considering retiring four ships from the LCS class. All four ships, the USS Freedom, USS Fort Worth, USS Independence, and USS Coronado are currently non-deployable and not rated for combat.
We can assume there is a whole host of reasons why the Navy decided to decommission four of its ships, but we have a few reasons why they all should be decommissioned. But we can think of a few specifically:
It is Expensive!
In 2017, at the request of the Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review, the US Government Accountability Office deleted details of cost overruns concerning two of the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ships from a report on shipbuilding contracts. The review labeled the removed financial information as “sensitive but unclassified”. Further pushing the envelope that the LCS was just a large money-drain
On top of that, in early 2020, the Navy’s top requirements officer stated that other budget priorities had forced the four littoral combat ships on the cutting-room floor. With these budgetary-restraints saving the service about $1.8 billion over five years.
Frequent Mechanical Failures
Among growing budgetary expenses, the LCS also had trouble operating properly. On two separate occasions in 2016, both the USS Fort Worth and Coronado experienced major mechanical failures. Sidelining both ships in Singapore for longer than expected; with the USS Coronado and its crew remaining in Singapore for 14-months.
Poor Planning
The Coronado was stranded in Singapore as a result of mechanical failures, but also due to crew failures experienced by the Fort Worth and Freedom. Forcing the Navy to enact changes in how the ships were trained and crewed, even requiring the Coronado’s engineers to be recertified; leaving the crew stationary until the changes were put in place.
Almost a decade since the program first began, the Navy announced it was abandoning the fundamental concepts the LCS was built on: a ship capable of multiple missions featuring swappable mission modules and a radical new way of manning it. Instead, including single mission-specific modules and significantly larger crews assigned a single primary skillset.
Today, Naval experts are divided on the LCS class’ achievements. Was it a total failure? Are there any key takeaways for the future? We’re not sure, but one thing is certain, the Navy will never admit it was a failure.
But these are just fact-based opinions on the LCS’ actual performance; what was the outlook before these ships were dropped in the pond?
Rewinding to 2016, Veterans Radio Podcast host Jim Fausone interviewed Michael Desmond; the Commanding Officer of then newly commissioned USS Detroit Littoral class. There was so much hope on the horizon for this project, but who knows what the future holds for the rest of the Littoral Combat Ships. Let us know in the comments your thoughts on the LCS!