LCS Scores Drug Hits

DoD Buzz ^ | 3/15/2010 | Greg Grant

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

The Navy’s first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS 1) has been quick out of the slips to score some major public relations points by seizing a few tons of cocaine on its first operational deployment in the Caribbean. The new fast, maneuverable LCS will excel at such peacetime operations, often called “Phase O,” writes the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment’s Martin Murphy, in a new white paper (.pdf).

Murphy has done some impressive work on the policy challenges of piracy and insurgents operating in littoral waters. In this paper, he turns his analytical focus towards one of the Navy’s highest profile programs.

LCS had its origins in Cebrowski’s “distributed network” battle fleet idea and the Navy’s realization that larger multi-role ships were too costly. In the face of proliferating land-based, long-range precision missiles, the 1990s idea of maintaining a “sea-base,” a floating defensive bastion off an enemy’s shores, was losing support, at least among some naval analysts, in favor of “a more dispersed and flowing style of war fighting,” Murphy writes.

The speedy and maneuverable LCS appeared to fit just such a concept, particularly in light of Hezbollah’s surprise hit on an Israeli patrol boat with a Chinese built C-802 cruise missile; LCS’s multi-mission, or “plug-and-fight,” modular construction packaging was also appealing.

A sizable chunk of the world’s populace lives on or near inshore waters, making littoral waters a de facto strategically important operating environment. Yet, Hezbollah’s clever employment of today’s equivalent of coastal artillery represents but one of the many complexities found in the littorals, Murphy explains. Small suicide craft, stealthy electric diesel boats, a very messy and cluttered electro-magnetic environment and picking out hostile craft from the mass of commercial craft that ply coastal waters are others

[rmlew]

The speedy and maneuverable LCS appeared to fit just such a concept, particularly in light of Hezbollah’s surprise hit on an Israeli patrol boat with a Chinese built C-802 cruise missile; LCS’s multi-mission, or “plug-and-fight,” modular construction packaging was also appealing.
That and
1. Fire support with a 76mm is silly.
2. ECM and anti-missile systems should always be on. If the mission demands that it be off, it isn't worth it.
3. Even the dumbest opponents with money can buy Russian and Chinese weapons.

PS. Thje INS Hanit is a corvette like the LCS.

[HiTech RedNeck]

The title suggests a rather naughty situation.....

[dsc]

The way it looks these days is that ships are such vulnerable targets that the first guy to break EMCON dies.

If you have your anti-missile systems on, a giant beacon telling the enemy where you are, they can do TOT attacks from around the compass and saturate your ability to respond.

[43north]

You guys have it all wrong. The true purpose of this ship is its ability to go into shollow waters to track and fire on bass boats to enforce obamao’s Oceans 21 policy.

No more hurting little fishies that all belong to the government says the emperor.

Scooter and BillyBob are in trouble now!

[rmlew]

The way it looks these days is that ships are such vulnerable targets that the first guy to break EMCON dies.
The Hanit gave away its position, when it was used for fire support.

[dsc]

“The Hanit gave away its position, when it was used for fire support.”

Perhaps, then, they should have had other system up. I don’t know, based on the very little information I have on that particular case.