LCS – A different view
My favorite what-if is if LCS hadn’t been compromised by the speed requirement. Same general tonnage, completely different capability set. Something akin to a pimped-up La Fayette frigate:
La Fayette class – Littoral Combat Mod
Mission requirement:
– Close in to an enemy shore, either autonomously or as part of an amphib task-force
– Sea control: SIMULTANEOUSLY clear littoral waters of a) enemy ships, b) enemy submarines, c) enemy mines
– Land attack: SIMULTANEOUSLY engage a wide spectrum of tactical & strategic land targets, via commando operations (by sea & by air), naval gunfire support, and long-range precision attack
– While defending self & nearby vessels (<5nm) against air & missile attack
Rationale: You can’t predict what OPFOR you’re going to face, and you can’t predict what land targets the President will ask you to engage or ships you may have to escort, so you should be able to re-role on the go without sprinting back to a support base.
Mods to La Fayette frigate:
ASW
– Bow-mounted sonar
– 2x triple torpedo launchers
– Additional payloads as-needed: ASW-configured NH90 helo, USVs for mine warfare (instead of RIBs)
AA & Self-Defense
– 8x VLS for 16-32x radar guided MICA VL (replaces Crotale)
– 2x TETRAL reloadable launchers for 8x IR guided Mistral SAMs
– 2x 20mm remote cannon (in addition to the existing 2x 20mm manual cannon on the bridge)
Land Attack
– 16x SCALP Naval cruise missiles in raised forward VLS area for strategic strike
– 8x Exocet Block III for littoral strikes
– 1x 127/64 Oto-Melara gun with Vulcano ammunition for NGS
– (existing capability) 1x NH-90 (2x at a pinch) + 4 RIBs for 25 commandos
If this was a Batch II new-build, add a gas turbine to increase speed (currently only 25kts), and a 2nd helo hangar.
The indian navy has been remarquably coy about this whole incident. I can only guess that there was a major screw up in damage control and they’d rather not face tough questions. For example:
– We know from video footage that the collision was at fairly high speed but only at a glancing angle (seems like 30 degrees, bow on midships). How did that damage the boilers?
– The collision damage does not seem critical. The fire started only several hours later when everyone had been evacuated and the ship was sailed/towed back to a berth with only 7 meters depth, so the initial flooding can’t have been too bad. There was also time to unload the magazines.
– How come once the fire started it couldn’t be controlled by the ship’s DC equipment let alone all the help around it?
Pic taken at least 20min after the collision. Everything seems under control, no fire, no huge list, at least one engine room still working.
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