SECNAV Discusses LCS

Geoff Fein of Defense Daily (subscription only) had an article on Friday that used liberal use of quotes from Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter. All of the following quotes were in response to questions regarding the Littoral Combat Ship program.

"It's unfortunate there were [overly] optimistic estimates that were given," Winter said. "We still have very clearly a vessel here which is a small fraction the cost of other surface combatants, and which provides a degree of flexibility by way of its modularity that will enable us to adapt it to a very uncertain future mission mix, and also let us evolve the system in a very significant way."

"Yes, we canceled two, but the objective of that was to put the program on a proper disciplined development track," Winter said. "Our objective here is not to buy two or four LCS. Our objective here was to buy 55 LCS, and making sure we were on a path that would give us good value and a product that we wanted for that fleet. [That] was going to be more important than just trying to move ahead given the uncertainties we saw at the time."

"When people start realizing and understanding some of the capabilities that are accomplished by this ship and some of the flexibilities associated with it, and we will learn more, and we'll be able to understand and be able to modify [it] ," he said. "That's okay, because the system was designed to afford that type of capability."

"The system is designed to accomodate different modules, different capabilities. It provides access, support, volume, speed...and within those parameters there is a hell of a lot that can be done," he said.

"And the combination of the air component capabilities, the fact you have a good-sized flight deck and hangar in both variants, as well as the ability to deploy small boats, gives you some tremendous potential from the standpoint of amphibious operations, which is a core Marine Corps interest area."

"Modifications will come by way of the modules, and in the same way we convert from surface warfare to anti-submarine warfare operations to mine warfare...the idea of putting on modules to enable amphibious warfare seems a logical extension of these capabilities," Winter added.

"The modularity is a huge factor. Yes, it's good that this is a very shallow draft, high-speed vessel. That is an enabling feature for littoral operations," he said. "From the basic enabling capability there are features that are important here. But the real benefit I think is going to come from the whole modular construct, and the ability to not only carry but deploy capability both in the air and in the water."

I think this is the right tone regarding the ship. Note the metric regarding the LCS he places the most emphasis with is modularity. I also think it is a good thing that every time the SECNAV has discussed the LCS lately, he has emphasized there is still a lot to learn. I tend to agree with the tone and intent of these comments, despite my concerns regarding the LCS.

Modularity is the most important aspect of the platform itself, but I believe Hybrid Sailors and Train To Qualify represents the most important aspect of the overall program.

There are a ton of lessons to learn not only about the platform itself, but also the concept of operations. I think we will see these lessons begin to emerge as part of the discussion late this year. For those looking where the conversation might start, keep an eye on the combat system, because there will be a push to go with a single combat system among all LCS models. If you aren't aware, the GD and LM versions of the LCS each have a unique combat system, which at the time may have been a good idea, but isn't anymore.