A Harpoon missile is launched from the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67) Sept. 15, 2014, during a training exercise in the Pacific Ocean. (Photo by Kevin V. Cunningham/US Navy)
Posted on 02/03/2016 1:38:20 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
Boeing Co. is recommending that new Littoral Combat Ships be mounted with Harpoon missile launchers this year before routine trials near Mayport, Florida, a company official said.
In a recent interview with Military.com, Jeffrey "Scott" Jones, Boeing's global sales and marketing lead for the Harpoon and a retired Navy rear admiral, said a new upgrade kit that aims to double the missile's range makes it a strong candidate for mounting on the LCS and the frigate that will follow.
The Navy's director of surface warfare, Rear Adm. Peter Fanta, called an over-the-horizon missile an "absolute requirement" for the ship in a January interview with USNI News, adding that Harpoon was one of the systems under consideration to do the job. Fanta said he wanted to mount a missile on the LCS by the end of this year, for demonstration purposes at a minimum.
The service completed free-flight tests in November on the Harpoon Block II+ missile, a network-enabled upgrade expected to be delivered to the fleet by 2017.
The Block II + ER kit, Jones said, will offer doubled range at half the cost of a new missile acquisition -- and with a fairly rapid upgrade turnaround process.
Boeing is waiting on a Navy decision regarding introduction of the upgrades to surface ships, Jones said, but added the company could start installing systems on ships "very soon."
The Harpoon has its critics, however. In a January briefing with reporters, Lockheed Martin vice president of Littoral Ship Systems called the missile a "worst-case scenario" for the LCS, saying that government officials "believe anything other than that would come in equal or lighter, basically."
Jones said Boeing had actually offered the Navy a variety of launching systems for the Harpoon, including the lightweight MK 140 launcher used on the service's Pegasus-class hydrofoi
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
A Harpoon missile is launched from the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67) Sept. 15, 2014, during a training exercise in the Pacific Ocean. (Photo by Kevin V. Cunningham/US Navy)
This is the new ship that was built in Marinette, WI. There are some problems with it, according to the article at the link. It may be out of date before it’s ever launched.
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
Carries a few missiles, a CIWS system, a helipad, and one cannon.
This is for the Coast Guard, right??
And they are only one billion dollars each.
-This is for the Coast Guard, right??-
This ship was designed with the intention of getting closer to the enemy shore than most deep ocean ships could go. It is aluminum with almost no armor. It is largely open without the normal watertight compartments due to the mission module concept. It ignores everything we know about ship survival for speed and maneuverability.
When I asked the Army representative about the slab side design and little armor of the new Future Combat System vehicle designs he said, “We will have total control of the battle air space and these vehicles will be behind safe lines.” That was before the Gulf Wars where there was no recognizable battlefield. Wherever you were at the time was the battlefield. In other words, the Army adjusted its thinking about reality to get the fantasy they wanted.
The LCS ignores mines and the fact that non-state actors like Hezbollah have Silkworm airship missiles. It is some admiral-s fantasy dream. Let us hope very few men are killed before the Navy comes to its senses and relegates them to non-battle duties.
Realistically, is the LCS ever going to be operating without over-the-horizon support from deep water hulls like destroyers & cruisers, not to mention air support? Mounting a medium-range anti-ship missile on these small vessels seems like a tremendous waste of precious deck space. Most of their opposition is going to be small speedboats, sea-skimming missiles and the AIP submarine — non of which are harpoon targets.
Good gawd
Well there goes your after range light.
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