The U.S. Navy's littoral combat ship (LCS) program, which was intended to be a technical marvel capable of combatting enemies at sea, hunting mines, and sinking submarines, has turned into one of the military's biggest boondoggles. The LCS program has been plagued by overpriced and underperforming ships, with rampant mechanical failures and a failure to carry out its intended missions. ProPublica's investigation reveals that top Navy leaders repeatedly dismissed or ignored warnings about the ships' flaws, while defense contractors lobbied Congress to build more ships. The LCS program has cost billions of dollars and may reach a lifetime cost of $100 billion or more, leaving taxpayers with fewer than 30 limited-survivability, single-mission ships.
The Navy christened the USS Cooperstown, a Freedom-variant littoral combat ship, in honor of all military veterans, including the 70 Baseball Hall of Fame members who interrupted their baseball careers to serve in the military. Staterooms on the ship will be named after Hall of Fame members and will have a replica of their Cooperstown plaques on their doors. The ship's motto is "America's Away Team."
The US Navy's latest long-range shipbuilding plan includes the decommissioning of two nuclear aircraft carriers, the USS Nimitz and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, and the sale of two Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships to foreign militaries. The plan also clarifies that the Navy only needs 15 Independence-class ships for mine countermeasure missions, leading to the decommissioning of USS Jackson and USS Montgomery. The Navy is conducting a Battle Force Ship Assessment and Requirement Report to inform future shipbuilding plans.
