Israel Submits RFP For Littoral Combat Ship

Israel has requested a RFP for the Lockheed Martin version of the Littoral Combat Ship, and is looking for a reply by April. This is a very interesting development, because this will tell us at what price Lockheed Martin believes they can sell their LCS-I variant.

According to defense sources, the LCS, if acquired by the navy, would enhance Israel's long-arm capabilities and could be potentially used in a conflict with Iran. The ship, capable of carrying special forces and larger infantry units, can also carry midsize vehicles as well as two helicopters. It would also be installed with the Barak anti-missile defense system and would be able to intercept incoming missiles.

The are no confirmations on the final kit, but it probably includes AEGIS, MK41 strike length cells, and CEC. We note the Israeli's have only authorized the purchase of 2 ships, which isn't a lot. However, we have also noted in the past that Lockheed Martin in talks with India on the Project 17 stealth frigate project, which is a project for 12 frigates. It is probably a good assumption that anything sold to Israel with the LCS-I will be available to India.

We look forward to seeing how much the LCS-I costs, and what the kit looks like.