Almost Sanity from Chuck Hagel the LCS will DIE! ... but the replacement will not be the obvious one in plane sight apparently.

[conon394]

I say almost sanity because killing it sooner would be better - at say 17... and David Axe's options, while better are not the easy best option available.

In any case as I said I really would kill it today so go with a 39/40 ship gap (and see below maybe 60).

First just admit mine sweeping should likely be something distributed via drone a little bit to the whole fleet and mostly deferred to well dedicated sweepers. Mission module BS aside the specialization required seems to preclude the LCS ever being a good mine sweeper even if the mission vapor ware appears.

Second I don't like the upgraded LCS deal - its an option that Israel walked away from with good reason I think.

It seems to me the obvious, ever so obvious ship that should have been bought and still can be is the American made made Sa'ar 5 class corvette.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sa%27ar_5-class_corvette

Fitted out with with with up-to-date US kit and a 76mm or 57mm gun it is the perfect ship for facing Chinese or Iranian missile boats and swarming attacks and in general fills the gap of the Oliver Hazard Perry.

I do like like NPF as well. There are economies of scale to had with the USCG (although that will annoy the Navy). The main arguments against it is well it not like some uber Destroyer like an Arleigh Burke, but it perfect for loitering around Somalia looking for pirates and free to do the same same kind of thing globally

I know the USN lives in a fantasy world where it needs to be ready to win the next Midway the problem is the rest of the world combined lacks the CVs to fight that fight in the deep blue sea... So it ends up in the ludicrous position of deploying its top of the line Blue Water capital ships to sweep for pirates or narco traffickers etc.

Also then the USN can hand over the LCS to the USCG and save it from some of it its own faltering acquisition programs while maybe providing a reserve force if all those mission plugins really pan out one day

http://chuckhillscgblog.net/2014/02/...uard/#comments

So any thoughts what's next is Hegal going to really stun us when he allows the Air Farce to kill the A-10, but only because the army is allowed to buy an updated version of the A-1 Skyraider for COIN ops under some kind of bureaucratic jujutsu - only for special ops command.

[Condottiere 40K]

If the crisis with Russia continues, the advocates for a more traditional, robust frigate are likely to win out.

[athanaric]

While I see the merit of purchasing this ship type, I think it's a good idea to be prepared for all possible scenarios. Just in case another Russian leader whose name ends on -in decides he really likes Poland...

So any thoughts what's next is Hegal going to really stun us when he allows the Air Farce to kill the A-10, but only because the army is allowed to buy an updated version of the A-1 Skyraider for COIN ops under some kind of bureaucratic jujutsu - only for special ops command.

I've always been curious, why do they want to get rid of the A-10? Seems to be a very efficient and popular plane, according to what I've heard.

[Pielstick]

I've always been curious, why do they want to get rid of the A-10? Seems to be a very efficient and popular plane, according to what I've heard.

Sequestration shrunk the budget pie so that the Air Force was forced to make painful cuts so preserve their priority programmes.

True, and the changing face of close air support, the fact that as a result of Afghanistan just about every aircraft can do CAS now and some longer standing questions about how survivable the A-10 is in the face of modern battlefield air defence systems. Also some stuff going back to Kosovo and Desert Storm about the apparent inability of western aircraft to effectively find and identify hidden or camouflaged ground units... something that the F-35 is supposed to address.

The less charitable might say the A-10 is increasingly an anachronism, but to be fair it's done well in Afghanistan... mainly because the Taliban don't have much more than an AK and some goats. Great aeroplane for Afghanistan, maybe not so great for the next war - especially if the other side has been shopping in Russia anytime in the last 20 years or so.


As for LCS, it'll be interesting to see how things turn out... I get the feeling the USN is maybe struggling a bit like the USAF in coming to terms with its role in the modern world and that as conon rightly points out, Arleigh Burkes chasing Somali pirates around the Gulf of Aden isn't really the optimal solution. Then again recent events in Crimea might just help the case for continuing development of conventional Cold War type platforms instead of those focussed on asymetric warfare.

[Condottiere 40K]

Sequestration shrunk the budget pie so that the Air Force was forced to make painful cuts so preserve their priority programmes.

Though haters will say that the USAF have always disdained the CAS mission and took the opportunity to eject it.

[Condottiere 40K]

I see that role taken over by a mothership/tender who controls a bunch of drones, helicopters and corvettes.

[Condottiere 40K]

A lot would depend on whether the US gets into another shooting match anytime soon; if not, it doesn't really hurt to let the LCS make it's presence felt nor to take the Warthog off-line and develop a new generation of CAS platforrms.

What appears to be the problem are the corresponding infrastructure costs to maintain a separate logistical tail for the warthog and pilot training, since if I were the Air Force I'd just consolidate the entire programme under one wing and let the ANG fly it, and there again it's a zero sum game, because the ANG would then get the Congress to transfer some air force budget pie to them.

[Holger Danske]

I get the feeling the USN is maybe struggling a bit like the USAF in coming to terms with its role in the modern world and that as conon rightly points out, Arleigh Burkes chasing Somali pirates around the Gulf of Aden isn't really the optimal solution

They could simply adopt an americanized STANFLEX system. I'm sure the RDN would glady help them, or they could simply copy everything from the NSA files they 99.99% have. Highly versatile warships at a fraction of the cost of comparable ships. Perfect for hunting somali pirates, transport for rapid deployment, theater air-defence, ASW, SPECOPS, humanitarian operations, etc... And an americanzied version would most certainly be more combat oriented/capable.