Littoral Combat Ship: US Navy's $10 Billion MISTAKE

The Littoral Combat Ship cost the US Navy well over $10 billion, and some LCS were retired after barely a decade. So why are the Freedom-class and Independence-class survivors now getting Naval Strike Missiles and mine-hunting gear? This is the full story of the Navy's most criticised warship. After the Cold War, the Navy wanted a small, fast, cheap ship for shallow coastal water: one hull, three swappable mission modules, and a crew of about 40. Lockheed Martin built the steel Freedom class, and General Dynamics with Austal built the aluminium Independence-class trimaran. Then the cost doubled, the modules arrived years late, USS Milwaukee had to be towed home, and the Navy started decommissioning ships at 13 years old. Now the ship that was written off is being rebuilt for a new job, and the frigate meant to replace it is facing the same problems. 0:00 The Navy's $10 billion warship 0:50 Why the Navy wanted a littoral combat ship 2:06 Freedom class vs Independence class 2:45 40 knots, water jets and a crew of 40 3:35 Mission modules: the ship as a truck 4:27 What went wrong: cost, cracks and the gearbox 5:16 The modules that never arrived 6:13 Crew problems and the three-crew rotation 6:48 The Pentagon cuts the LCS program 7:43 Why the Navy started retiring LCS early 8:56 The LCS comeback: Naval Strike Missile 9:47 LCS as minesweepers in the Persian Gulf 10:39 Freedom class retired, Independence class rebuilt 11:02 The Constellation-class frigate problem 11:26 LCS by the numbers 11:54 Failure or a ship judged too soon? Was the LCS a failure, or a good ship the Navy judged too quickly? Tell us in the comments. #littoralcombatship #usnavy #warships