The United States Navy has decommissioned another two of its troubled LCS vessels, USS Detroit (LCS-7) and USS Little Rock (LCS-9), for their major design flaws. Both the ships of the Freedom-class were retired after six and seven years active respectively, which is pretty much a reflection of the continuing troubles with the LCS program.
The decommissioning ceremony, led by LCS-7 Commanding Officer Cmdr Kyle Hickman, so marked these ships as having played very important roles in ensuring national waters. Serving actively in special operations for intelligence gathering and patrols, both of them, the USS Detroit and USS Little Rock are assisting the US’s international anti-drug trafficking campaign. Their combining gear, one of the most vital components of the propulsion systems of the warships, and frequent breakdowns ruined the service during their serving time. Inherent construction and design discrepancies of the Freedom-class vessels were the reasons for these mechanical failures.
Those were especially acute for LCS-7, which had to abbreviate its missions to Latin America because of constant breakdowns. Though the ships have been retired well ahead of time, they are still being considered for possible foreign military sales, with the USS Little Rock being moored at the Philadelphia Navy Yard for storage.
The Littoral Combat Ship has been designed to be fast, agile, and mission-focused to conduct a range of functions in nearshore operations and to counter a range of different 21st-century threats from the coast. The Freedom-class has been developed by Lockheed Martin, and one of its distinctive features is the trimaran hull design. However, the class has been plagued by a long range of issues, which also included propulsion system problems, corrosion of the hull, and delays in mission module development.
Further underlining that fact is this: The Navy decided to retire two other Littoral Combat Ships the USS Milwaukee (LCS-5) and the USS Sioux City (LCS-11). Two retirements in just one year underline what the deal is with the setbacks of the LCS program. The Navy even retired two LCSsr: the USS Milwaukee (LCS-5) and the USS Sioux City (LCS-11). Two retirements just underline what the deal is with setbacks for the LCS program.
Adding insult to injury, the Independence-class LCS fleet is also dealing with structural flaws causing hull cracks. Navy Times has obtained internal records showing half the Independence-class ships are afflicted with the defects, which hamstring the vessels’ operational speed and sea state capabilities. Cracks first appeared in late 2019 on USS Coronado, and have since been found on six of the 13 ships in the class.
It “does not pose a risk to the safety of Sailors on board the ships.” says Naval Sea Systems Command spokesman Alan Baribeau. However, it restricts ships from transiting faster than 15 knots in seas having maximum wave heights of about eight feet, which decreases the vessel’s significant operational flexibility.
Nevertheless, despite such challenges, the Navy has just commissioned a new Independence-variant LCS, the USS Augusta (LCS 34), in Eastport, Maine. The commissioning ceremony, led by Naval Inspector General Vice Adm John Fuller, marked the entrance of this ship into the littoral defenses of the Navy. The future USS Augusta will operate in both nearshore and open ocean environments, further enhancing Navy capabilities in the littorals.
Vice Adm Fuller said this ship is a key component of the Navy’s strategy to execute Sea Control and Project Power. USS Augusta is the third Independence-variant ship to be delivered, joining the USS Canberra (LCS-30) and the USS Santa Barbara (LCS-32).
The decommissioning of the USS Detroit (LCS-7) and USS Little Rock (LCS-9) was a wake-up call as to how fragile the LCS program had been. However, the commissioning of the USS Augusta LCS-34 and others in its class proved that even in the face of setbacks, the Navy was set on maintaining a current and viable littoral combat force. The Navy continues to grapple with the complexities of fleet readiness while addressing the internal flaws of its LCS vessels.