Second thoughts to LCS cuts?

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s decision to cut back on the number of Littoral Combat Ship buys may not be the final word, informed sources told Breaking Defense. The Office of the Secretary of Defense, and possibly Deputy Secretary Bob Work, may be thinking about back-tracking on Carter’s December memo to drop 12 ships (from 52 to 40). Last month’s decision memo may have bypassed some of the usual vetting process on its way to SECDEF. Two of the sources have traced the memo to LCS hard-line critics at the Office of Coast Assessment and Program Evaluation. A potential new debate at OSD gives hope and new credibility to LCS defenders – including that of SECNAV Ray Mabus and CNO Adm. John Richardson. CNO called the proposed cuts for FY-17 “pre-decisional”; and may be a sign it gets reconsideration. “There is a good deal of finger-pointing in OSD now,” one source said, along with being “a little embarrassed.” (Source: Breaking Defense 01/15/16) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Note: Austal USA Shipyard at Mobile, Ala., builds one of two LCS variants.