As expected, Navy officials are on the PR offensive with the Littoral Combat Ship program, saying the little ships will see combat from day one of any fight (you know, to counter the steady stream of reports that say the LCS can't survive in combat).
In fact, the two classes of LCS, the Lockheed-Martin-built Freedom class with its conventional hull design and the Austal USA-built INdependence class with its trimaran hull, may each be concentrated in a specific region where they can exploit their strengths, Navy Undersecretary Bob Work said today.
Per AOL Defense:
While the Littoral Combat Ship is not suited for the front lines of a war with China, it would provide vital protection to US supply lines in such conflict, said Under Secretary of the Navy Robert Work, and against Iran, LCS would be in the battle from "day one," with eight LCSs ultimately operating out of Bahrain. Indeed, the two potential theaters of war are so different that the Navy may consider focusing the "much more maneuverable" Lockheed Martin version of the LCS on fighting fast attack boats in the narrow waters of the Persian Gulf, while the very different General Dynamics design, with its larger flight deck and fuel tanks, operates primarily in the vast reaches of the Pacific."We like having two options," said Work
