Land-based LCS trainer

The Pentagon’s chief weapon’s tester is throwing his weight behind a Senate recommendation for the Navy to build a land-based test version of the engineering plants for the Freedom and Independence variants of Littoral Combat Ships. After four engineering failures - in both variants - within the last year, the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, J. Michael Gilmore, supports a Senate “recommendation to establish a land-based testing facility for LCS propulsion sets.” That recommendation was attached to a committee’s version of the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act. The Navy has propulsion test sites at Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia, for other ships, including the Arleigh Burke and Zumwalt destroyers. A 2015 Navy white paper estimated it would cost $221M to build an LCS test site in Philadelphia. The latest LCS review may call for additional changes to its operations, manning and equipment. That review may be briefed to Congress as early as next week. (Source: US Naval Institute News 09/06/16)