The Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship is built to be modular. So far, the Navy has planned only for anti-submarine, anti-mine and anti-boat modules combining different weapons and robots, but lately the sea service has been hyping the potential for an amphibious-warfare module.
Skipper of the first LCS, Commander Don Gabrielson, told me in November that, with the right module, you could put a company of Marines on an LCS and deploy them using small boats and helicopters. In fact, there’s already a prototype for such a module — and Gabrielson had it on his hangar deck (visible at right at the 1:46 mark in the video). It was built to provide extra berthing for small ships such as the Navy’s catamarans.
Now Navy Secretary Donald Winter is singing Gabrielson’s tune:
[T]he combination of the air component capabilities [on the LCS], the fact you have a good-sized flight deck and hangar in both variants, as well as the ability to deploy small boats, gives you some tremendous potential from the standpoint of amphibious operations, which is a core Marine Corps interest area.
This is a great idea, and consistent with emerging Marine Corps “distributed operations” doctrine. At sea, that means breaking up the traditional battalion-sized landing team into smaller, independent teams capable of limited operations ashore. The new San Antonio-class of amphibious ships (“gators”) has helped propel this doctrine, as it offers sufficient storage, berthing and flight-deck space to support a small landing team all on its own.
“We’ve been able to execute a mechanized raid profile off the New Orleans,” Marine Colonel David Coffman said of San Antonio‘s sister ship. “[It’s] basically operating as an independent platform with our amtrack and tanks and LCACs [hovercraft] working off of that deck.”
LCS gators could work in groups, or with San Antonio-class ships, sacrificing the mass and major aviation capabilities of the old-school amphibious organization for speed and flexibility.
[...] LCS for High Speed Transport David Axe at War is Boring reveals USN plans to place Marines onboard its new littoral combat ship: Skipper of the first LCS, Commander Don Gabrielson, told me in November that, with the right module, you could put a company of Marines on an LCS and deploy them using small boats and helicopters. In fact, there’s already a prototype for such a module — and Gabrielson had it on his hangar deck (visible at right at the 1:46 mark in the video). It was built to provide extra berthing for small ships such as the Navy’s catamarans. [...]
[...] What won’t change is the vessels’ modularity. “The system is designed to accomodate different modules, different capabilities,” Navy Secretary Don Winter said of LCS. “It provides access, support, volume, speed … and within those parameters there is a Hell of a lot that can be done.” Like fast, flexible, small-scale amphibious assault, for one. [...]
[...] When it comes to the U.S. Navy, President Barack Obama has promised to “invest in smaller, more capable ships, providing the agility to operate close to shore and the reach to rapidly deploy Marines to global crises.” That means more amphibious ships, catamarans and Littoral Combat Ships, right? [...]
[...] The Marines call this “distributed operations,” and it’s all the rage. On the sea, that means breaking up the traditional heavy assault force into smaller raiding parties riding in LPD-17 assault ships and Littoral Combat Ships. In the air, that means relying on aircraft to cover the distance between widely scattered ground units. Helicopters can do it, but they’re slow. V-22 Osprey tiltrotors, by contrast, are fast. [...]
[...] The “RHIB era” is only just beginning. When the Navy finally gets around to designing berthing modules to add Marines squads to the Littoral Combat Ship, it’ll be RHIBs that will carry those Marines into combat. With Secretary of Defense Robert Gates looking to trim the Navy’s old-school amphibious-assault force, littoral ships with RHIBs will fill the gap, dispersing Marines into coastal waters in small, nimble groups. [...]
[...] Last year former naval analyst and incoming Navy official Bob Work told me the Navy’s controversial near-shore Littoral Combat Ship was “one of the best deals the U.S. Navy has made since World War II.” “The U.S. Navy is way ahead of the curve,” he said of the 3,000-ton fast, modular vessel, designed to carry small Rigid-Hull Inflatable Boats and robots. The Navy is buying three LCS in 2010, in addition to four previously paid for. [...]
Didn’t notice the amphibious-warfare module. But did anyone catch what looks like a unmanned helicopter at 1:19 to 1:24? Can’t tell if its a Boeing A-160T Hummingbird or a Northrop-Grumman RQ-8A Firescout.
[...] LCS, might revolutionize the way the Navy fights. The LCS includes a huge hangar bay for carrying Marines, manned helicopters, aerial drones and surface-skimming [...]
[...] Navy fights. the LCS includes a huge hangar bay for carrying Marines, manned helicopters, aerial drones and surface-skimming [...]