I'm surprised at how much larger the LCS 2 appears in relation to the LCS 1. That flight deck on the LCS 2 should come in handy.
I'm a little shocked at how old and tired these ships look. Here's a close up of the LCS 2....
NOTE:
If this is the new Navy standard when it comes to ship appearance then we desperately need to establish motherships and keep these bad boys off shore. Can you imagine pulling into hyper clean, hyper sparkling Singapore in a ship that looks like a garbage barge? Embarrassing!
Is it just me or is LCS2 unpainted? That might explain the stains as paint is easier to maintain.
ReplyDeleteif you doubled the crew size...no make that quadrupled the crew size it would still be a beast to maintain to 'normal' navy standards.
ReplyDeletei don't know what the new standard is gonna be but our ships are gonna look like trash if this is the way its gonna be.
I don't know. Those two look like they'd be awfully hard to see from a distance.
ReplyDeleteRaw aluminum in salt water oxidizes to that mottled-gray look and then stops, as long as electrolysis is addressed (otherwise the pitting adds a whole new aesthetic). Both of these boats look like they are raw aluminum. I agree with Publicola -- they'll be harder to see as they get their oxidized shell. Especially on gray overcast days. And they won't reflect fuck all for light. Really pretty practical.
ReplyDeletehow about using grey paint instead?
ReplyDeletecan't explain why they didn't do that... can't imagine cost was an issue since we spent so damn much on these things anyway. I would prefer a dazzle setup like we so the Norwegians and some Chinese vessels using today or like we used in WWII.
ReplyDeleteI meant "like we see the Nor..."
ReplyDeleteand the Swedes...
ReplyDeletehttp://io9.com/364483/navy-battleship-with-a-cloaking-device
LCS-1 (the Lockheed one) has a steel hull and aluminum superstructure while LCS-2 (the GD one) has an all aluminum body and superstructure.
ReplyDeleteThe ships don't have enough crew to maintain yet another item, like paint. Frankly there's some doubt if there's enough crew to maintain the inspection and maintenance schedule.
ReplyDeleteIt's one thing to purchase an overpriced, under armed, non survivable, and under crewed frigate but buying two different ships with different systems making maintenance, training, and upgrades far more expensive is ridiculous. Perhaps almost as ridiculous as buying two ships in series and doing so before any of the three mission modules work or are even close to working.
Would anyone care to take a bet that one or more of the modules will have issues integrating on one version far more than the other? How about an over/under in hours for how long LCS can operate at top speed?
Have you seen this: What Price Freedom? LCS-1 Leaves Dry Dock Amid Questions About Worthiness
ReplyDeletehttp://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/awx_05_09_2012_p0-456228.xml
yeah i saw that Wolf1. it seems like more of a hit piece than a serious peiceo of journalism. i'm kinda against that kinda thing because programs are clamming up because of action like those at Aviation Week.
ReplyDelete