via DoD Buzz.
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos recommended the Navy replace its dock-landing ships (LSD) with the San Antonio-class amphibious platform docks (LPD) just days after he oversaw the commissioning of the Navy’s newest LPD, the Arlington.Uh.
Amos made his recommendation with a caveat Monday at the Sea Air Space Expo sponsored by the Navy League at National Harbor, Md. He said the service must work to make the San Antonion-class LPD more affordable.
An LPD costs about $1.4 billion to build. The ship can transport 800 Marines as well as the 400 sailors that make up its crew.
The Arlington (LPD 24) was commissioned on April 6 in Norfolk. Amphibious transport dock (LPD 25) Somerset is set to go to sea trials this summer and be delivered to the fleet by the end of the year, said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Irwin Edenzon.
The Navy has planned to replace the LSD fleet with a program to build 10 ships. The last one would be delivered by 2032. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the average cost of the LSD replacement ships will cost $1.2 billion per ship.
Navy officials plan to deliver the first LSDs between 2018 and 2022 before the older ones retire. The Navy sees this as a hedge on the risk it took reducing the amphibious ship fleet from 33 to 30.
The cuts to the Navy’s amphibious fleet left many Marine Corps leaders frustrated and worried the service was losing its amphibious roots after ten years fighting land wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The LPD and LSD fleet share similitaries. The major difference is the LPD has a hangar to embark helicopters while the LSD has a helicopter landing area but no hangar.
Ingalls Shipbuilding builds the LPD fleet and supported the commandant’s recommendation, Edenzon said. Ingalls has made the case to utilize the LPD as a LSD replacement and it appears it is receiving support on the highest levels of leadership.
With budgets tightened by sequestration, Edenzon said the Navy will have to perform more missions from single hulls. He highlighted the possibility of building a ballistic missile defense variant of the LPD.
The LPD has the “ability to be the truck” of the Navy’s amphibious fleet, Edenzon said.
What?
Wait!
No! I have serious issues with this, but not for the reasons you might think. The Marine Corps is becoming INCREASINGLY AVIATION CENTRIC! This might exacerbate the problem. The LPD is extremely capable. I would almost classify it as the equal of first generation LHA. Not only does it carry enough ground combat vehicles to provide a nice combat punch but it also is able to embark a fairly impressive air complement as well. If the goal is a truly balanced, medium weight force that is TRULY expeditionary, ready when the nation is least ready and is the go to force for the President's 911 calls then we need to reinvigorate our armored force.
Prioritize armor. Our shipping and aviation is in good shape.
The start point is Marine general officers do not seem to know enough about warships.
ReplyDeleteThe LPD and LSD while having a similar (and obsolescent) discharge method i.e. wet well docks are vastly different inside their skin.
The Marines have said repeatedly that their tactical is growing in weight and size. The LSD is the cargo hauler in an ARG. THEREFORE LSD (X) must be a major truck to continue the analogy i.e a seim-tractor sized truck. NOT an large SUV as is the LPD.
Add on top of that the cost to build the LPD-17 hulls and the MANY problems with construction quality at HII Ingalls, and the only logical conclusion is NOT use the LPD-17.
My solution is to modernize the LSD-49 hull AND make it much wider (the Panama Canal is about to get MUCH bigger you know). Width could go from about 85 ft to say 100 ft (allowing room for overhangs) Widening the LSD gives it bigger wet wells, and more cargo space, and BTW a bigger flight deck
P.S. NO USN or Marine officer should be talking about what is essentially an HII marketing campaign. They are NOT HII spokespersons. If not illegal, it violages US regs specifically FAR.
ReplyDeleteleesea, I have been trying to track down the specific differences between an LPD and LSD but have not been having much luck beyond that they exist and that the LSD is more cargo-oriented. Could you elaborate on this?
ReplyDeleteBasically British Albion class and Bay class one is a troop carrier and command platform the other a cheap truck.
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