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Lockheed Martin's Littoral Combat Ship Is Finally Making Headway -- but Is It Too Late?
Motley Fool ^ | August 1st, 2015 | Katie Spence

Posted on 08/01/2015 9:12:31 AM PDT by Mariner

The Littoral Combat Ship, built by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Austal USA, has been plagued with cost overruns, design flaws, and a number of failures. In fact, the LCS performed so poorly that then-Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel cut the Navy's LCS acquisition from 52 to 32 ships, and directed the Navy to appoint a Small Surface Combatant Task Force, or SSCTF, to "submit alternative proposals to procure a capable and lethal small surface combatant, consistent with the capabilities of a frigate."

The good news is Lockheed Martin addressed many of the issues plaguing the LCS, and now production is surging as the price has dropped. The bad news is the Navy has decided it wants a modified LCS -- which it's officially calling a frigate -- for ships 33-52. So, what does this mean for Lockheed Martin?

(Excerpt) Read more at fool.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: armsbuildup; littorals; usnavy
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Take it from this old salty dog, the Navy needs 50 Frigates, real expendable, cheap Frigates in the 3,500-5,000 Ton class...light and loaded to the teeth.

Shoot and run.

Patrolling waters that a Capital ship has no business plying.

These ships should cost about $250-300mil each.

While3 we're at it we should build and procure about 50 small DE subs.

$400mil each.

1 posted on 08/01/2015 9:12:31 AM PDT by Mariner
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To: Mariner

Sure, why not?

I’ll get my cookie jar.


2 posted on 08/01/2015 9:16:50 AM PDT by Jonty30 (What Islam and secularism have in common is that they are both death cults)
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To: Mariner

About building a plane to support ground forces an air force general said, “Look, if it isn’t faster and flying higher than the last one, I don’t even want to hear about it.”

I think the Navy has the same mindset. Nobody wants to command a tiny ship. They want big ones costing lots of money. It’s about ego and it’s about promotions.


3 posted on 08/01/2015 9:17:19 AM PDT by Gen.Blather
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To: Mariner

Bring back corvettes, destroyer escorts and patrol boats.


4 posted on 08/01/2015 9:18:28 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (TED CRUZ. You can help: https://donate.tedcruz.org/c/FBTX0095/)
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To: Mariner

5 posted on 08/01/2015 9:20:43 AM PDT by JoeProBono (SOME IMAGES MAY BE DISTURBING VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED;-{)
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To: Mariner

bump


6 posted on 08/01/2015 9:22:08 AM PDT by GeronL
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I’d like to bring back my corvettes..


7 posted on 08/01/2015 9:22:32 AM PDT by brivette (lol~)
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To: Mariner; Jeff Head

How much armor does an LCS carry?

They look like bait for can openers


8 posted on 08/01/2015 9:22:55 AM PDT by GeronL
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
"Bring back corvettes, destroyer escorts and patrol boats."

They have their role in small numbers...the Brown Water fleet.

But right now we don't have enough Blue Water platforms.

Just patrolling the Western Pacific, showing presence and deterrence, is problematic.

A squadron of Corvettes each in Subic, Yokosuka and Bahrain would be quite useful.

MAYBE another in the Med somewhere.

Right now the only options a commander has to keep a presence is a 10,000 ton "Destroyer".

9 posted on 08/01/2015 9:27:46 AM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18 - Be The Leaderless Resistance)
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To: GeronL
"How much armor does an LCS carry?"

There's not an armored ship is US inventory.

They use compartmentalization instead.

10 posted on 08/01/2015 9:29:16 AM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18 - Be The Leaderless Resistance)
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To: JoeProBono

Your pic did not come through./


11 posted on 08/01/2015 9:30:22 AM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18 - Be The Leaderless Resistance)
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To: Mariner

Fun and games in the Taiwan Strait? If another Dem is elected they’d probably send every carrier named after a Republican with “Shoot Me!” painted in radar reflective paint on their sides.


12 posted on 08/01/2015 9:30:39 AM PDT by katana (Just my opinions)
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To: GeronL

Not much and that was one of their major initial complaints.

That and major subsystems problems.


13 posted on 08/01/2015 9:31:49 AM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Mariner

you are correct..


14 posted on 08/01/2015 9:32:19 AM PDT by brivette (lol~)
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To: Mariner

Right click and open the pic. Of LCS ship.


15 posted on 08/01/2015 9:39:57 AM PDT by citizen (America is-or was-The Great Melting Pot. JEB won't even speak American in his own home. NO Bush!!)
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To: Mariner
"The bad news is the Navy has decided it wants a modified LCS..."

USN/DoD strike again with requirements creep...and people wonder why defense programs are "out of control"...the idiots in Acquisition don't pay for these, taxpayers do and then the contractors get drawn and quartered for price increases and schedule delays...

Not arguing the viability or not of the LCS at all...just generally arguing about the system as a whole.

16 posted on 08/01/2015 9:42:49 AM PDT by SZonian (Throwing our allegiances to political parties in the long run gave away our liberty.)
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To: citizen

The LCS is a joke as a combat vessels. It’s biggest defense is that a cruise missile might go in one side and out the other without exploding.
They don’t carry enough crew to fight and take care of damage. They have no real offensive weapons.
Right now we are in a bad position in the China Sea and Middle East without enough ships to keep the sea lanes open. Without the support of India and Singapore we would be in worse shape.
We need to rebuild the Navy and build more subs..even DE’s.


17 posted on 08/01/2015 9:46:00 AM PDT by Oldexpat
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To: Mariner

Copy and paste:

http://media.defenceindustrydaily.com/images/SHIP_LCS-GD_cutaway.png


18 posted on 08/01/2015 9:48:24 AM PDT by null and void (If the government can't protect the Marines, how can we expect it to protect us?)
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To: null and void

Just get forbidden on link and pic above


19 posted on 08/01/2015 9:52:26 AM PDT by American in Israel (A wise man's heart directs him to the right, but the foolish mans heart directs him toward the left.)
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To: American in Israel

RTFM. Don’t click on it, copy and paste!


20 posted on 08/01/2015 9:56:07 AM PDT by null and void (If the government can't protect the Marines, how can we expect it to protect us?)
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