DailyTech - Navy to Begin LCS Retests This Week

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Science Navy to Begin LCS Retests This Week
Michael Barkoviak - October 12, 2009 5:09 AM

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18 comment(s) - last by Samus.. on Oct 13 at 2:00 AM

LCS Independence (Source: USN)

The US Navy will begin retests of LCS Independence sometime this week

The United States Navy could roll out Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) general testing this week; this will offer the Navy and contractors a first glimpse of the ship after numerous changes.

LCS ship Independence first saw trials two months ago, but suffered hardware issues. It was decided to take the ship dockside and remove it from active trials mode.

"Every time you go to sea, it's a disruption to your production," Rear Adm. Bill Landay told reporters. We were going to sea, we were coming back, we were working on issues a couple days, we were going to sea, we were working on issues. We were making progress, but we also were, quite frankly, impacting our production, because there were a lot of other things we still needed to do."

Officials have been disappointed due to the three-month delay in Independence's testing and development.

A first test to be conducted will test the top speed of the ship -- which is expected to reach 44 knots -- with Independence first attempting the speed during the trials in July. The engine issues promptly ended the testing before 44 knots could be reached.

Since the Navy officially won't have the ship until it's passed all necessary testing, exact details of reported engine issues haven't been publicly released. The reported issues are said to be somewhat minor, with no major overhauls or upgrades necessary.

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Pretty Clever

By jadeskye on 10/12/2009 9:08:47 AM , Rating: 4

I'd never heard about these types of naval vessel until i just read this, after browing wiki i gotta say these things seem really cool. A great idea.

up there with the osprey in term of flexibility.

RE: Pretty Clever

By ebakke on 10/12/09, Rating: 0

RE: Pretty Clever

By theapparition on 10/12/2009 10:21:46 AM , Rating: 5

The Osprey is a very capable craft. Almost every accident has been the direct result of pilot error.

Unfortunately, for as great a role as the Osprey fills, it is the victim of bad press and became a posterchild and synonym for military failure, even if completely unfounded.

Just as Vista had some early troubles and everyone and thier brother seems to rag on it now as a bad OS, doesn't make it remotely true. Don't perpetuate the misinformation.

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RE: Pretty Clever

By jordanclock on 10/12/2009 12:02:54 PM , Rating: 2

I would guess the biggest issue is that the Osprey flies so much different from any other aircraft that pilot error is pretty much guaranteed until more suitable training is/was available.

But of course, the Osprey isn't so much of a synonym for military failure as it is military waste. At a projected $50 billion (and higher) to complete the program, it really isn't that impressive of an aircraft.

Your Vista comparison is quite apt; It's really hard to justify the costs for a lot of people.

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RE: Pretty Clever

By DanD85 on 10/12/09, Rating: -1

RE: Pretty Clever

By ebakke on 10/12/2009 9:49:04 PM , Rating: 2

I said nothing about the Osprey's capabilities, and I never called it a failure. Regardless of the cause, the aircraft has been involved in several incidents. That's a fact we should both be able to agree upon. And from there, it isn't too far of a stretch to say I hope this has fewer problems, regardless of their cause.

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RE: Pretty Clever

By seamonkey79 on 10/12/09, Rating: -1

RE: Pretty Clever

By Master Kenobi

(blog) on 10/12/2009 11:11:00 AM , Rating: 2

The Osprey is doing just fine in active use, thanks.

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RE: Pretty Clever

By Randomblame on 10/12/2009 2:03:37 PM , Rating: 2

Actually the osprey has flown over 3 thousand sorties in iraq with only 4 accidents as far as I am aware. That's a pretty darn good record!

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RE: Pretty Clever

By Omega215D on 10/12/2009 2:58:58 PM , Rating: 2

Until they start flying towards Black Mesa.

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RE: Pretty Clever

By seamonkey79 on 10/12/2009 5:28:27 PM , Rating: 2

I wonder why nobody saw the word "DID"

...as in, past tense, in the previous iterations, initially, at the beginning, etc.

If this thing sucks as bad as it *DID* then they will hopefully have learned from the Osprey screwups and fix things in bulk instead of fixing this, breaking these, fixing that, breaking those...

Remember kids, English is not all that hard, so long as you know how to utilize it.

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RE: Pretty Clever

By Samus on 10/13/2009 2:00:22 AM , Rating: 2

Why is the Osprey even a topic here. We're talking about an LCS, it's a light weight naval vessel, it doesn't fly or crash or fail in any remotely similar way to an aircraft.

And as stated, an Osprey has never had a failure inside its maintenance interval. If properly maintained and pilots properly trained, it would be the only United States military aircraft ever produced with a flawless track record. Considering its complexity, that really says something about the program and he engineers behind it.

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RE: Pretty Clever

By Chernobyl68 on 10/12/2009 12:54:29 PM , Rating: 2

The Trimaran concept has been around for a while, but is only now making inroads into U.S. Naval architecture. We'll see what capabilities it has.

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This is new?

By Dfere on 10/12/2009 10:33:33 AM , Rating: 1

While the Independence might be new, I thought the Navy had rolled out "littoral class" ships with modular designs and had them in operation already....

Littoral meaning the ability to operate in shallow areas (without googling)

This article suggests otherwise?

RE: This is new?

By mmatis on 10/12/09, Rating: 0

RE: This is new?

By ebakke on 10/12/2009 9:53:50 PM , Rating: 2

Yeah, LCS-1 is Lockheed Martin's version of the Littoral Combat Ship. This article is talking about General Dynamics's version, the LCS-2. They're currently both battling for the big contract from the Navy that will determine which design will be used for the fleet.

LCS-1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Freedom_%28LCS-1%...
LCS-2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Independence_%28L...

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