Navy Plans Re-designing Troubled Littoral Combat Ship

The two variants of the Littoral Combat Ships lack firepower, as their main weapon is a single 57mm automatic gun, more often fitted to fast patrol boats than to frigates, a top U.S. navy commander said in a classified memo.

Vice Admiral Tom Copeman, the commander of naval surface forces, called on the Navy to consider a ship with more offensive capability after the first 24 vessels are built, according to a Navy official.

Copeman’s memo, prepared late last year at the request of Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the chief of naval operations, indicates the Navy may be starting to re-examine the $37 billion program, eventually leading to redesigning of the ship or the development of an entirely new vessel.

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