US still committed to LCS for SE Asia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - The American Navy is still committed to resuming rotational deployments of its Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) to Southeast Asia, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson told USNI News in Singapore, but would not specify when deployments would restart. The Navy is refocusing on ensuring that the follow-on deployments of LCS incorporate the lessons learned from earlier deployments, he told reporters. The U.S. and Singapore agreed in 2011 to rotational deployments of up to four LCS to Singapore. By 2018, it was envisioned up to four LCS would be operating there. However, issues with the LCS program have led to only three single-ship deployments being carried out to date. The Navy planned for two LCSs to be deployed in Singapore this year, but a readjustment of the LCS program led to shifting schedules. (Source: USNI News 11/01/18) Gulf Coast Note: Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) completed a 14-month deployment to Southeast Asia having departed Singapore in November 2017. LCS 4 was the first Independence-variant LCS to deploy to the US 7th Fleet as part of an initiative to deploy multiple LCS to the region in just a few years. Indy class LCS are homeported at San Diego, and built at Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala.