Fleet Expansion Hinges On Littoral Combat Ship

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FEATURE ARTICLE

January 2007

By Grace Jean

The Navy took its new warship, the littoral combat ship, from concept to reality in record speed. The service, however, may take years to define the vessel’s future missions and develop its various weapon systems.

The first of the LCS vessels, the USS Freedom, already is in the water. Three others are in varied stages of construction. And all this happened in a relatively short four years, officials point out.

Designed for operations in the shallow seas and coastal waters, the littoral combat ship will carry interchangeable “mission modules,” each of which will be customized for different operations, such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare.

The mine warfare module, particularly, is in high demand. “Frankly, we can’t get it fast enough,” says James Thomsen, program executive officer for littoral and mine warfare. Technologies that are part of that mission package, such as a remote mine hunting system, an airborne mine neutralization system and a sonar mine detecting set, are undergoing tests.

The LCS contractors — Lockheed Martin Corp. and General Dynamics — are building two hull designs. Lockheed’s is a steel semi-planing hull design, and General Dynamics’ is an aluminum trimaran.

Officials are exploring the possibility of going to one hull, but that decision will not be made until 2009, says Rear Adm. Mark Buzby, deputy director of the Navy’s surface warfare division.

That means 15 ships will be built before the Navy determines whether it will keep both designs. “Until we get both ships in the water and both ships operating, we’re all sort of guessing,” says Buzby. “Both on paper have strong attributes and they have some drawbacks.”

The cost of building the LCS hull has grown from $220 million to $270 million. But the average cost of the mission modules has dropped, from $180 million to $70 million.

The Navy is saying each ship will require 1.5 mission modules, so the total amounts average out to about $400 million per ship, says Robert Work, naval analyst with the Center for Budgetary and Strategic Studies.

The ship was made to appeal to foreign navies as well. Both Saudi Arabia and Israel have expressed interest in acquiring the LCS for their navies.

The Navy is on track to buy 55 of these ships, says Buzby. But Work predicts the Navy will build more, especially if foreign navies purchase the LCS.

The strict timelines make the LCS challenging, says Fred P. Moosally, president of Lockheed Martin maritime systems and sensors. “It’s a program you have to manage very carefully,” he says.

By 2015, Buzby predicts the Navy will have 30 littoral combat ships in the water and may have many other mission modules in production.

The Navy Third Fleet, based in San Diego, is responsible for developing new ways to employ the ship, says Buzby.

Navy officials are encouraged by the excitement that the LCS has spawned in the fleet, says Rear Adm. Charles Hamilton, the executive officer for Navy ships. “The intellectual fervor generated from mission modules has given rise to a whole cottage industry,” Hamilton tells a Surface Navy Association conference. “If you have the interface, they will come,” he adds. Special operations forces, for example, are considering employing the ship for various missions. Others are suggesting that the LCS should have a hospital module and a logistics module to transport cargo. “This is just a start,” says Hamilton.

Breaking yet another Navy tradition, the littoral combat ship will be manned by sailors whose complete training will take place ashore in ship-specific facilities.

The first such shore-based training center, being built in the San Diego homeport of the first four LCS ships, will become operational in June, says David Shikada, LCS training manager for Lockheed Martin Corp., which built the first ship, the USS Freedom.

Lockheed is building simulation-based trainers designed to instruct LCS crews in bridge management, ship navigation and handling, propulsion plant operations and mission control center operations.

“We are actually training officers in simulators before they get to the ship,” says Buzby. “What a novel idea, to have training facilities in place before the ship is ready to go.”

Current training programs prepare sailors in classrooms before they are sent aboard ships for on-the-job training.

“What we’re doing in the LCS is we are reducing and, hopefully, eliminating the on-the-job training piece,” says Shikada.

Because the LCS operating concept calls for ships to remain forward deployed, crews will swap out on rotations. The Navy is planning to man the first four littoral combat ships with blue and gold crews, says Buzby. When one crew is deployed, the other crew will have access to the shore-based training facility.

Lockheed is working to get the simulation systems up and running by June. “We’re in scramble mode. We’re trying to sweep up funding from a variety of sources that are available to develop the initial capability,” says Shikada. “There’s so much more to be done that we’re not on task or on contract to do, because of the trickle stream of funding.”

Please email your comments to GJean@ndia.org