Michael Gilday, chief of naval operations, suggested selling second-hand littoral combat ships to other countries — south America, for example — rather than scrapping the ship altogether.
The Navy's fiscal 2023 budget application plans to retire 24 ships — nine of which are Liberty-class littoral combat ships.
Liberty class littoral combat ship, now littoral combat ship this project is daddy does not love the mother does not love
Gilday said at today's Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing that the anti-submarine warfare kit developed for the Freedom hull was ineffective and could not deal with China's undersea threat.
The three combat modules originally scheduled for littoral combat ships are currently equipped with only the most basic surface warfare modules, the anti-submarine warfare module has been cancelled by the Navy, and the anti-mine module has just completed testing after continuous delays. However, at present, in the face of the PLA Navy, which has become a green-water navy and bought from the blue-water navy, its module is meaningless - it is nothing more than adding some trouble to the PLA Navy with high speed and flexibility when "touching porcelain" in the South China Sea, but in actual combat, how fast can you run supersonic anti-ship missiles?
According to Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), a member of the subcommittee, one of the nine Littoral Combat Ships in the decommissioning sequence participated in joint exercises with the Dominican Navy on drug interception missions.
"In terms of future options for these ships, I would like to propose to the Subcommittee that we should consider making these ships available to other countries that can use them effectively," Gilday said.
Gilday said: "For example, there are some countries in South America ... Being able to use these vessels with small crews, therefore, instead of just considering scrapping as a single option, I think there are other options we can consider. ”
The USS Independence Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-2) was moored next to the pier at a decommissioning ceremony at Naval Base San Diego, California, on July 29, 2021. U.S. Navy photo. The Littoral Combat Ship Independence (LCS-2) will be decommissioned on July 31, 2021.
On April 12, 2021, the U.S. Littoral Battleship Liberty (LCS1) returned to Naval Base San Diego from its last deployment. U.S. Navy photo. The Libertarian Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-1) left the active fleet on September 30, 2021.
Some time ago, the US "Defense News" said on May 11, 2022, according to the internal records obtained by the "Naval Times" and confirmed by maritime officials, nearly half of the 13 "Independence" class littoral combat ships currently in service have structural defects, resulting in hull cracks in multiple ships, which cause the hulls of several ships to crack, thus limiting the speed and sea conditions of some ships.
Documents obtained by the Navy Times warn that the crack could widen if the vessel sails at speeds of more than 15 knots in an ocean with a maximum wave height of about 8 feet. This condition was first found in the independence class Omaha (LCS-12), and later review of other independent levels found that this problem was widespread.
The effects of such cracks were so great that the U.S. Navy issued a temporary restraining order against the Omaha, not allowing the ship to travel at speeds in excess of 15 knots. This is a huge limitation for a ship that can have a maximum speed of more than 43 knots, specially designed for high speed. The last advantage of the Littoral Combat Ship was gone.
The Omaha is currently the only vessel confirmed to be subject to a speed limit, but when asked if other ships have similar restrictions, the U.S. Navy is noncommittal, simply stating: "All of the 'Independence' classes have been inspected to meet their operational requirements." ”
Compared to the Zumwalt class, which also has the opportunity to convert into hypersonic missile launchers, the U.S. Navy has given up on littoral combat ships. Rear Admiral Randy Crites, then deputy assistant to the U.S. Navy's budget, said in 2020: "They [littoral combat ships] aren't unimportant, it's just that they're less important in great power competition — so that's why we're spending that savings on other areas." ”
The United States shifted its energies to the more traditional Constellation-class frigates and began to re-produce the Ali Burke-class Flight III destroyers.
The "Constellation" class frigate, one of the symbols of the U.S. Navy's "great power competition" and "return to the ocean", designed by the Italian Fincantini Group, with a full load displacement of 7300 tons, is scheduled to be the first ship to start construction in April 2022, energy production in 2025, and service in 2026 or 2028. The first ship cost $1.1 billion, followed by $900 million. Positioned similar to 054A, the Americans finally came back to the frigate.
The cutting-edge warships that once the Stars of the United States once held the moon may eventually become the anti-drug ships of the South American countries... Even the Littoral Combat Ships could not do this well, and the Littoral Combat Ships once carried out anti-drug operations at the U.S. Southern Command, but the Coast Guard did not think highly of them — although fast, but could not jump gangs.
Miserable...