McCain, Reed Push To Replace LCS Mine Drone

In a letter obtained by Breaking Defense, senators John McCain and Jack Reed slam a key component of the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship as unreliable and urge the Pentagon to explore alternatives to the Remote Mine-Hunting System.

In their Aug. 31 letter to the Pentagon’s acquisition chief, Frank Kendall, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, and outgoing Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the Senate Armed Services Committee leaders warn against a “rush to failure” and strongly suggest a “delay,” especially since key decisions on the LCS Mine Countermeasures (MCM) module are set for October and February,

The Littoral Combat Ship has been the Navy’s most hated program since its inception, and McCain has been a persistent critic. The core concept — a lightweight warship that could switch missions by loading different mission packages of equipment — remains controversial with naval traditionalists who see LCS as fragile and under-gunned.

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