A new era in surface warfare dawns

January 2011 Navy

By Aaron Bresnahan

With the opening of a New Year, we also find ourselves at the dawning of a new era in surface warfare. At the writing of this article, the Navy has finally announced its intentions to award the long-awaited littoral combat ship (LCS) program to both industry teams. Yes. That is correct; both teams. Over the past few months, both Austal USA and Lockheed Martin had been in a fierce competition with each other for a “winner-takes-all” award for the next generation of Navy surface combatants. The only difference today is that neither team expected this type of outcome.

Before the Navy announced its revised acquisition plan back in late 2009, it had originally indicated that it wanted both versions of the LCS. However, because of escalating program costs and program delays, the Navy indicated that each version, as previously offered, was unaffordable. Today, if the Navy can get the support of Congress, it will still get both versions – just a lot cheaper.

If the program continues to move forward, each industry team will receive construction contracts to build ten vessels, for a total procurement of twenty vessels in this first round. You could say that this new approach is a win-win for everyone involved. The Navy gets the benefit of the industry’s learning curves, and the ships get built by multiple vendors. With the economy remaining sluggish and shrinking defense budgets projected for the very near future, having a more diverse supplier base with steady work committed over multiple years will be considered a “God send” by many contractors and local communities.

Another program provision mentioned in conjunction with the announced dual award was the possibility to extend the homeporting concept for LCS from a San Diegobased, super-hub scenario to one that includes LCS fleets on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. In some ways, this could be a major benefit for the program as well. It keeps all the eggs from being placed in one basket, literally; and, additionally, it provides industrial regional benefits to more communities.

So far, each team has delivered one ship for test-and-evaluation. Each team has a second ship under construction, which will be delivered in the very near future. Austal USA, a subsidiary of the Australian shipbuilder Austal Ships, builds their vessels in Mobile, Alabama. The Austal hull is a trimaran made of aluminum. Lockheed Martin’s ships are built in cooperation with Marinette Marine Corporation (MMC), a subsidiary of Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri. MMC is based in Marinette, Wisconsin. The Lockheed hull is a monohull made of steel. Each team has a vast array of sub-suppliers and vendors located throughout the United States, and each vessel is propelled by water jets.

LCS is the linchpin program for a Navy undergoing a major transformation in capability and its understanding of how to address threats of the future. It will become the Surface Navy’s version of a high performance fighter jet: high speed, low drag. It will have interchangeable, multi-role mission modules that allow for a greater depth of use and employing more “bangs for the buck.” LCS was a program on the fast track just a few years ago. Along the way, it encountered a few snags, which slowed it down. Fortunately, today, with the recent announcements and evolution in the acquisition strategy, it seems to be back on track again. Full speed ahead!