LCS review departs from original plan

A recently completed review of how the Navy intends to equip, man and operate its two Littoral Combat Ships variants is a departure from the original decade-old vision. The emphasis on modular systems and crew rotations are a distant memory. The Navy plans to divide 24 LCS into six divisions of four ships each - three divisions of Freedom-class at Naval Station Mayport, Fla.; and three Independence-class at Naval Station San Diego. Each division will be tasked, crewed and equipped with a specific LCS mission – mine countermeasures, surface warfare or anti-submarine warfare. Each ship will be manned by two crews, not three. Additionally, the first two ships in each class will become training ships, and manned with “senior experienced” sailors. Those four are Freedom, Independence, Fort Worth and Coronado. The remaining LCS will cycle to forward-deployed locations with two crews swapping roles every four to five months. While the review is complete, details on other issues is still being worked out. Also not part of the review is how to deploy, man and equip 11 future frigates that are to be up-gunned versions of either Freedom or Independence. (Source: U.S. Naval Institute News 09/08/16) Gulf Coast note: Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., builds the Independence variant of LCS. The first two ships out of Austal was Independence (LCS-2) and Coronado (LCS-4).