7th Fleet Admits LCS Not Suited for Pacific

Thanks to Joe for the link!

via Military.com

U.S. Navy officials told a government watchdog the Littoral Combat Ship fleet is ill suited for duty in the Pacific, according to a Bloomberg report.

"Several 7th Fleet officials told us they thought the LCS in general might be better suited to operations in the Persian Gulf," said a Government Accountability Office report.

GAO officials said the controversial LCS lacks the speed, range and electronic warfare capabilities to function in the geographic expanse that is the Pacific theater. As a result, the Navy should consider buying fewer LCS if the vessel is unable to perform in the Pacific, according to Bloomberg's report.

This past year, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced a reduction of the planned LCS fleet from 52 to 32.

The GAO report, entitled "Littoral Combat Ship: Additional Testing and Improved Weight Management Needed Prior to Further Investments," also claims the LCS has weight and performance problems.

The first two vessels -- one each from Lockheed Martin and Austal U.S. -- are overweight, resulting in "not meeting performance requirements" for endurance or sprinting over 40 knots (74 kilometers per hour), the GAO said.

Previous GAO reports have questioned the LCS's survivability and overall performance capabilities as well.

This is just the first of many of the "cats" to be let out of the bag by the US military in the last months of the Obama Administration.

The guy is headed to the door and since he can't "bestow" favors anymore, people will be looking to protect individual reputations and bolster legacy's that have been shot full of holes.

Expect the truth to come out on many weapon systems, concepts and strategies.  Also expect many of the people that appeared before Congress or were interviewed on TV supporting this or that to suddenly have a come to Jesus moment.

Physical courage is easy.  Moral courage is hard.  Don't be fooled though.  These people aren't being courageous, they're being as slimy as they were when they spouted the party line, the difference now is that there is a benefit to telling the truth instead of lying.