The Navy first intended to build a 52-ship fleet of LCS vessels

by Kris Osborn, President, Warrior

The US Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship may indeed be one of the most criticized vessels of all time as it has been derided in the last decade, modified to a large extent and essentially “replaced” to a certain degree by more heavily armed Constellation-class Frigates. 

How so? The Navy first intended to build a 52-ship fleet of LCS vessels more than 10 years ago, yet widespread criticism about its inability to survive open, blue-water near peer maritime warfare led former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to massively reduce the size of the Navy’s LCS fleet.  The principal concern, among many things, was that the Concepts of Operation for the ship were first established during years of ongoing counterinsurgency and counterterrorism where there was a clear need for a ship like the LCS.  The contention was that the ship was simply too thinly skinned and poorly armed to operate in any kind of major maritime warfare environment. 

However, in an environment not contested by great power Navies, the LCS can conduct coastal surveillance, small boat defense and even some land attack. At one point years ago, the US Navy experimented successfully with the LCS’ ability to track and destroy swarming small boats using deck-mounted guns. 

Useless LCS? 

Therefore, is the ship useless? Clearly not, as its combat performance has to a certain degree aligned with the service’s initial vision for the ship. As a shallow-water counter-mine, surface warfare submarine hunting coastal vessel, the LCS has been able to conduct combat missions in areas inaccessible to deeper draft ships. Also, as part of its added value, the LCS is capable of adding great value to maritime combat operations without itself attacking or being fired upon. 

LCS Middle-East Deployment

This dynamic was identified last year in an interesting US Navy essay about the homecoming of the USS Indianapolis, a Freedom-class variant of the LCS recently deployed in the Middle East. The service essay explained how the LCS wound up proving critical in efforts to stop Houthi attacks by performing combat-critical diplomatic, logistical, communications and navigational functions. 

“As the workhorse of the Arabian Gulf, Indy executed the lower tier missions necessary to maintaining good diplomatic relations in the Middle East which allowed Standard Missile shooters to reposition to deal with bad actors in the Red Sea. I think it’s pretty special that we were able to provide the 5th Fleet commander with more tools and options to aid in the free flow of commerce through a contested waterway,” Cmdr. Matthew Arndt, USS Indianapolis’ Commanding Officer said in the Navy essay.

LCS Advocates Defend Ship

Proponents of the LCS have long maintained that the ship’s 40-knot speed is survivability-enhancing and that its interchangeable “mission packages” of various integrated suites add substantial mission-specific value. The weapons and technologies have for many years been adapted and upgraded to strengthen its anti-submarine, surface-warfare and countermine mission capacities. Specifically, more recent LCS ships are armed with longer-range over-the-horizon missiles, an increased ability to operate drones and reinforced weapons systems. 

This recent deployment, wherein the LCS demonstrated operational value, may impact the overall equation regarding Navy plans for the fleet. 

“This deployment clearly marks a significant chapter in the ship’s history and serves as proof the LCS class is capable of fulfilling operational and strategic goals across all theaters of operations. This validated the littoral combat ship concept both operationally and through administrative successes Cmdr. William Green, USS Indianapolis’ Executive Officer. Indianapolis, said in a Navy essay.

This current assessment of the LCS was recently validated by former US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro who explained at a prior hearing that the ship is now receiving a new generation of lethality upgrades to include weapons and new missile launchers capable of launching major warship weapons such as the SM-6

Portions of this essay appeared in 1945

. Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.