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Posted on 07/27/2024 8:27:01 AM PDT by whyilovetexas111
The Constellation-class frigate seemed like a safe bet for a service desperate for a procurement win. Wanting a frigate after the failure of the Littoral Combat Ship and the retirement of the last ships of the Oliver Hazard Perry (OHP) class, the U.S. Navy decided to hedge its bets by going with a proven design, the European Multipurpose Frigate (FREMM) proposed by Fincantieri Marine Group and operated by both France and Italy. The ‘Connies’ were supposed to be an easy win, but unfortunately, the program has strayed into the kind of trouble that seems to follow the U.S. Navy wherever it goes.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalsecurityjournal.org ...
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The last Zumwalt class “frigate” littoral, the USS Lyndon B Johnson (yes, that LBJ!) sponsored by Luci B. Johnson and her sister, (motto of the “ship” kid you not: “In Defense of Great Society”)=== the last one still has not left Ingalls in Mississippi final outfitting and shakedown. It was commissioned in 2018.
These are- all of them POS lessons in techno incompetency right down to the deck gun that has shells too expensive to fire! A propulsion system that “ran” on green fuel until it broke down in the Panama Canal and had to be towed to repair. The end of “Great Society” Billions spent on this stupid Littoral concept- made useless by hypersonic sea missiles. The did not shut down the LBJ because it was more expensive to shut down than complete and then scrap it!!!
Unbelievable waste.
Wrong-headed, top-down decisions seems obvious even to me, who never served in any service. (My VN era lottery number was just high enough)
I was a sonar tech on USS Biddle, DLG-34 in the mid ‘60’s. She was a beauty. It was a shame to see photos of her dismantling in the early ‘90’s.
This is what happens when you try to Frankenstein a ship, instead of building to specific requirements.
Thirty years is about the useful life of a ship. They start deteriorating from the moment they go into the water. Rust, time, use, heavy seas all take their toll. At some point it costs a huge amount to keep the ship at all. It’s better to just buy a new one, with all the latest tech and stealthiness built in.
We could still be using WWII ships, but imagine the upkeep and in the end, you’d still have a ship that was past its best-by around 1975.
It was a shame, as that was my home for three years.
In an Age of Hypersonics and Drones a surface Navy has no utility except as a cover for looting the Treasury. By this standard, the Constellation-class frigate has been a resounding success - just like Army tanks and Air Force fighters.
With the DEI management of the current US Navy? They mess up and fu(k a goat.
/CTT2, 1988-1992
missile cushion
Thin hull.
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