Good in the ‘Green’
By AMY L. WITTMAN, Editor in Chief
SEAPOWER
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE
NAVY LEAGUE OF THE UNITED STATES
Volume 51, Number 10, October 2008
The Littoral
Combat Ship
(LCS) is supposed to
be fast, easy to maneuver and provide
greater flexibility and
capability for operations in “green water” coastal areas,
where the Navy currently lacks presence.
Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, during
a Pentagon media roundtable Feb.
12, acknowledged that capability
gap, noting, “We’re really good in the
blue. We’ve started to emerge again
in the brown water with our riverine
force. But in the littoral, or green water, we have a gap. LCS fills the gap
and LCS is the best ship to fill the
gap.”
LCS “provides the first capability
we’ve had to really be able to perform in littoral regions the way we
believe we’re going to need to over
the next many years,” Navy
Secretary Donald C. Winter said in
an Aug. 8 Defense Department
statement.
Roughead has said LCS will be a
“workhorse” for the Navy. Gen.
James T. Conway, Marine Corps
commandant, noted his service is
very interested in seeing what the
LCS can do, citing its potential in
providing fire support and for expeditionary operations. And LCS is a
focal point in talks between Adm.
Thad W. Allen, Coast Guard commandant, and Roughead about commonality in shipbuilding projects.
Congressional leaders, concerned
about rising program costs and
changing requirements, also are
monitoring the program closely.
So it is under a
giant microscope
that LCS 1 —
Freedom — now sails
through a critical
evaluation period on
its way to a Nov. 8
commissioning.
Freedom, a semi-planing monohull
platform built by a
Lockheed Martin-led
team at Marinette Marine, Marinette,
Wis., is one of two hullforms in the
Freedom class. LCS 2, Independence,
is an aluminum trimaran being built
by a General Dynamics-led team at
Austal USA’s facility in Mobile, Ala. It
is slated for sea trials this winter.
The modular design of the ship is
intended to support mission-specific
packages that are interchangeable,
providing a plug-and-fight approach
for anti-submarine, mine or surface
warfare missions.
Managing Editor Richard R. Burgess notes in his cover story, “LCS
Mission Takes Shape,” page 14, that
the LCS program is key to the Navy
reaching its overarching goal of a
313-ship fleet, with a total procurement of 55 ships planned.
This program represents, for the
Navy, a revolutionary approach to
shipbuilding that responds to several capability requirements.
It’s an important program that
speaks to the heart of naval transformation.
PUBLISHER
J. Michael McGrath
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Stephen R. Pietropaoli
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Amy L. Wittman
DEPUTY EDITOR
Peter E. Atkinson
MANAGING EDITOR
Richard R. Burgess
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Matt Hilburn
ASSISTANT EDITOR
John C. Marcario
DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING SALES
Charles A. Hull
PUBLICATIONS MANAGER
Kerri Carpenter
SEAPOWER CORRESPONDENTS
Patricia Kime
Amy Klamper
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Lisa Nipp
PROOFREADER
Jean B. Reynolds
DESIGN AND PRODUCTION
Pensaré Design Group Ltd.
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