Modified LCS questions remain

The Navy has yet to cement specific upgrades it will incorporate into the Freedom and Independence classes-modified Littoral Combat Ship conversion program. The service will procure 52 ships. The final 20 “frigates” will be outfitted with beefed up weaponry, sensors and armor. Navy plans to deliver its acquisition timeline to Defense Secretary Ash Carter on May 1. DOD established the Small Surface Combatant task force, a group charged with studying alternatives to the LCS. The buy-more decision is likely to be a boon for Austal USA of Mobile, Ala. and Lockheed Martin, which produce the two variants. Navy will begin buying new frigates in 2019, after the 32nd LCS is procured. That decision will allow the industrial base some consideration, without interruption, in their hull production lines. Incremental upgrades could be introduced as early as 2017. (Source: National Defense Magazine 04/2015)