Future Carrier (Including Costs)

[Modern Elmo]

PPrunespeople, do you agree or disagree with this attitude? It might apply to aircraft carriers as well as littoral combat ships or boats:


"I look at the Streetfighter concept and worry that we are saying, 'It's OK to lose ships,' " says Vice Adm. Michael Mullen, commander of the U.S. 2nd Fleet in Norfolk, Va."

... proposed by Adm. Cebrowski and Wayne Hughes as you might recall from here:

...Streetfighters would be cheap -- one design would cost only about $70 million a ship, compared with as much as $1 billion for a new destroyer-- the Navy would be able to buy hundreds for the price of one 10-ship carrier battle group. The ships would operate along crowded coastal waters, hiding in coves and springing out to destroy enemy subs, hunt down mines and disrupt enemy missiles that could more easily target larger, slower ships.

After a few days or weeks of heavy fighting, the bigger ships would move in and take over the fight. Some Streetfighters would be lost, and some sailors would die. Streetfighters must be designed to lose," Capt. Hughes wrote at the time. "If the ships become too costly or too heavily manned, commanders will be unwilling to put them at risk."

Cebrowski fought the funding issue. And it's easy to see why you get the [ gold-plated, too big, and over budget -- Elmo ] LCS when you wanted something else, considering -

Some top Navy commanders have grave doubts. "I look at the Streetfighter concept and worry that we are saying, 'It's OK to lose ships,' " says Vice Adm. Michael Mullen, commander of the U.S. 2nd Fleet in Norfolk, Va.

After all, there is no "littoral combat czar" to fight the big haze gray boys, and the air and sub mafias. It's like mine warfare only worse.
So give me a few M-80s and let me have young fire breathers learn to use them - creatively.

Eagle1 | Homepage | 07.30.08 - 6:40 pm | #
http://www.eaglespeak.us/2008/07/real-littoral-combat-ship-goes-to-sea.html