The littoral combat ship Coronado moors in Cam Ranh Bay during Naval Engagement Activity Vietnam 2017. The LCS hulls are expected to compete in the competition for the Navy's new FFG(X), which it hopes to start buying in 2020. (MC3 Deven Ellis/Navy)
WASHINGTON — A panel of analysts raised questions Tuesday about the U.S. Navy’s recent request for information from industry on a new frigate that it wants to begin buying in fiscal year 2020.
In a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Seapower Subcommittee, several noted experts called into question the U.S. Navy’s underlying analysis in the kind of frigate its looking for to replace its beleaguered littoral combat ship, or LCS, program.
In early July, the U.S. Navy released an RFI seeking a mature design that can be adapted to couple with combat and mechanical systems already in wide use in the U.S. Navy and can fully integrate with a carrier strike group. Among the capabilities the U.S. Navy wanted in its FFG(X) was the ability hunt submarines, kill ships over the horizon and operate independently in high-end threat environments, which would mean a robust counter-missile capability.
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WNU Editor: It seems the US Navy planners want a ship to do a lot of things .... but at the price of a frigate. This type of planning for a procurement never works.
