Littoral Combat Ships: How the Navy is Employing Them 

This is a very positive and optimistic forecast for a program that had quite the uhhh dynamic beginning. I guess we could agree at this point that we started from the bottom....now.....we're here. 🎉

Excellent! These ships get bad press but I can understand exactly what capabilities they bring especially in light of their highly trained companies. Nearly all "unwanted " ships end up punching way above their weight and serve way longer than expected

"Tons of space..." yes, because none of the mission modules work!

Habitabiliy modules have been built into freight containers for Decades. We have them on the T-AGS in '90s

Nice to hear good things about the LCS.

I thought they were decommissioning some of them because they were breaking down

Thank you.

I would loved to have served on an LCS. They weren't around when I was in (1968-'72). I served in a carrier, deck division, mess cook, and then data processing. I left the Navy in February, 1972 as a DP2 (predecessor to the IT rating). DPs didn't serve in the small boys. ITs do. I was just a couple generations too early. I know there have been a bunch of nay sayers about the LCS program. Some are right here watching this. But, it's still a new program and I think it's still viable as RAdm LeClair, Capt. Crawford, & Capt. Haney all indicate. I remember when Trump went aboard Ford and basically told them they should tear out the new cats and replace them with steam. It takes time to fully develop these programs and find their perfect niche.

so people who are saying that the LCS will fail have not been on board and talked to crew members. Every single new ship has had issues. The only ship to not have massive issues were the burke class destroyers

One other thing has been nagging me from the interview. Keeping the gear inside the mission bay is good for the gear. How is i for the crews? I say this because I doubt air flow through the mission areas is great nor would such large areas have AC. Might we be better off with lighter, cheaper ships that stow the gear on deck as is common with most of the rest of the ships in the entire world? An awning for shade and the actual sea breeze from sailing might improve morale, save some money, and add to our combat effectiveness. I've seen pics and video on at lest LCS-1 class deployments showing the internal temperatures of the ship being well over 100 degrees. We added AC o our ships after WWII as a lesson learned from the real war experience gained in the Pacific.

During bootcamp in the 90's we were told the Navy would no longer use aluminum in combat vessels due to a fire onboard a ship with an aluminum superstructure that cause heavy damage. Why would the Navy go back on that decision? Also a number of these large aluminum vessels are having structural stress cracks or failures.

Sounds like they should be combined in service, one of each deployed together, as opposed to separated. It sounds like a fleet commander would want an LCS with them so provide additional flexibility based on the mission modules. Smart.

I was happy to welcome the Indy Blue crew back to Mayport

To avoid the smirks, they should be called “sea line” ships. They patrol near the “line” where the land meets the sea.

This is good to hear…….

i heard suggestions of LCS's transferred to the USCG instead of being decommissioned. any thoughts?

What about putting Fire Scout MQ-8C on the LCS-1 variants for ISR

Seems like we don't have enough boats right now and are having trouble getting them built and serviced. Crews can do things with boats they weren't built to do. You can chop em' up and weld and bolt things onto em' and move this piece over there and give em' new gear and electronics and all kinds of things people not out there doing it can't imagine. We have a bunch of these hulls that maybe did not come out of the yard highlining, but I can't believe they are all not seaworthy and useless. When all you smarmy clevers that like to blame this one and that one and ride that sweet wave of sanctimony endorphins can get our shipyards up and rolling out the varsity combatants, let everybody know. Until that time, why don't you take a breath and let the crews do what they can with what they have? You might be surprised at the results.

Do both variant have sufficient storerooms to hold more parts and stores?

good to see the Navy getting smarter about cranes and davits

Bring back Destroyer Tenders so sailors can maintain their own ships. Decommissioning them was the dumbest move ever made by the US Navy.

I hope the idea of Freedom class being a Marine carrier is one of the ideas they will try? A sea cavalry in the Red sea looks to me like a good idea.

Are both variants still using contracted M&R?

I’m so confused. I’ve seen videos detailing how these LCS are being g decommissioned already, yet here they’re talking about new ones coming into service? Aren’t there purportedly some severe problems with these platforms that limits their functionality in a manner that makes their actual service doubtful?

do the LCS have Naval Reserve units associated?

I have always supported teh need for a ship like an LCS. Even if it isn't survivable in a high intensity conflict, it can free up destroyers for the high intensity conflicts. What I objected to was the charlie foxtrot that was the Design-Build program, followed by the mission creep.The program was executed poorly, criminally so in my opinion. The LCS (both classes) are what we have now and the issue here is how to best utilize them until we get something better.

Constellation class FFG will replace the LCS in the coming years. The only viable use for the LCS was determined to be as mine countermeasure ships due to the aluminum hull.

The Little Crappy Ships and the Expeditionary Fast Transport Ships operated by the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command both have a tendency to get cracked aluminum hulls. These can be problematical to say the least.

The US NAVY should not decommission the LCS FREEDOM CLASS. The are a few options for the FREEDOM class: option 1, upgrade the defences of the LCS FREEDOM CLASS so it can serve as part of a fleet. Option 2, transfer the ships to the US Coast guard. Option 3, Convert the ships into unmanned surveillance ships. Option 4, Convert the ships into drone carriers (surveillance/patrol). Option 5, give the ships to asian allies or Tawian. Option 6. Give the ships to allies willing to petrol the horn of Africa and seuz canal. Option 7. Use the ships as training/supply ships.

My dream for the Freedom class: equipped with a improved Trophy system. The U.S. Army directed energy weapon for anti air defense. Does the ACV fit through the maritime mission bay doors? If so, say 4 ACV, a Marine unit could conduct inspections.

❤

We're still talking about the modules huh? Which ones.........

They'd be most useful as SinkEx targets, although it wouldn't be much of a test, since apparently any weapon heavier than a 50-cal will destroy one.

Okay so the Little Crappy Ships (as some sailers call them ) have some future in the navy . The question is why is the navy continues to decommissioning them after 1 and2 years of service? And is it true that the freedom class were going to be sold to Taiwan?

I do like how optimistic this video is for the LCS program but I have to say most of the pluses that are mentioned are just not true. Speed, survivability, firepower, functionality are all things that these ships lack because of poor design. They lack speed because at high speeds their hulls crack, they lack survivability because of their aluminum hull and their open interior making DC a nightmare if they do get hit, firepower is extremely lacking even against targets that they are designed to fight against, and functionality because these modules you talk about are not being constructed take forever to install and don't work at the end of the day. This isn't to say they're useless, everything can have a use. We could have just found a way better ship to make than these two ships. I'm in San Diego right now and I have talked with LCS guys before and they hate it, they feel like place holders, they want to fight but the ships they are stuck on can not fight effectively

My hope for the Freedom class is that each and everyone of them are deployed to the Red Sea.

Lemme guess ... As artificial reefs? As new soft drink cans? I give up.

The United States should not provide aircraft modernization to Türkiye, it should be prevented from providing aircraft modernization to Türkiye

IIRC, they were most recently being considered as anchors for the Ford class carriers.

If all this is true, why are we decommissioning them? Why are we pushing the Constellation frigates instead? “little crappy ship” didn’t just come out of the blue.

So these LCS ships are being sent to the Red Sea to protect shipping?

Qapla'!

27:19 Does that really pay off? How does it pay off? It is radically different. Is it radically better? It looks foolish to me to break up that radically more streamlined bow with an......anchor. Why didn't they make that anchor stow away behind some fairing?.....for crying out loud.

Wait.....they stopped making them, didn't they? I thought they were going to end the LCS program. No???

This is a lot of rah, rah, bull. The navy has serious issues with more than LCS ships. Manpower is down, discipline terrible, and war fighting ability questionable. Some tough outside the box thinking admiral needs to take control and restore America’s navy.

Lost opportunity

Fan boys for a system that should never been built tied up shopyards that could have produced the navy we need Navy of the past made too many strategic mistakes This cast makes me mad

just daily as crew training ship both for manoeuvres and maintenance considering US Navy admit LCS haven't capabilities to be deployed in Red Sea. Mine warfare it's ok instead of trash it, but VLS without radars is something you could do it with LCU or LCAC and a container 🤣 not to mention what happened to russian ships without an opponent Navy 🤯, then I quit the clip

Biggest waste of money ever.......aside from the Zumwalts that is!

Why do navy officers wear cammo pattern? That is just silly.

The Navy is employing the Little Crappy Ships?

*¡the military must prioritize before wasting taxpayers money!* - 12:00 pm Pacific DayLight Savings Time on Tuesday, 9 April 2024 on a leap year