As part of the Fiscal Year 2023 budget, the Navy proposes to retire nine Liberty-class littoral combat ships in service. Photo: flipped US Navy
The U.S. Navy is striving to retire nine “Freedom-class” littoral combat ships in fiscal 2023, and is currently entering the congressional hearing process. The Chief of Naval Operations (Chief of Naval Operations) has questioned that the ships have not reached their useful life. Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Michael Martin Gilday proposed that “the Navy can transfer the planned Liberty-class Littoral Combat Ships to other countries”; For the gap, the Navy intends to fill the gap with new “Constellation-class” frigates at a rate of one to two ships per year, and some senators “hinted” for the U.S. Navy to think regarding a “second shipyard” Possibly, the production capacity may be raised to 3 to 4 ships per year.
In testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee Defense Subcommittee, Admiral Gilday emphasized that the Navy wants to retire LCSs because they “underperform” in a potential conflict with China, creating a “paced threat” to the Navy’s fleet; The naval combat ship lacks sufficient combat capability to confront China’s competition. The anti-submarine warfare module developed for this type of ship forms resources with other destroyers and P-8A anti-submarine aircraft that can perform anti-submarine warfare (ASW). Overlap, the Navy felt it was unnecessary to spend the money. The complex combination of gas turbines and diesel engines on ships is also a problem, but it is not a major factor in decommissioning.
Regarding the issue of service life, the Naval Operations Department proposed that it might be “transferred” to South American countries to perform anti-drug missions, or resold to other allies in the “Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate” model, including Turkey, Bahrain, Poland and Pakistan. The U.S. Navy may have deliberately avoided Taiwan because of the alleged “Freedom-class” that does not have sufficient combat capability for the Chinese navy; because Taiwan had intended to purchase 4 “Perry-class” frigates, it was finally limited by various factors Only two ships with the current name of the ship were purchased: “Ming Chuan (PFG-1112)” and “Fengjia (PFG-1115)”. The U.S. military is self-sufficient in anti-submarine warfare, so it has to exclude Taiwan from the list of “potential buyers”. However, some military experts believe that if the United States agrees to upgrade its performance to a phased array radar, a vertical launch system, and sells key components for maintenance, and then uses mine-hunting modules… Taiwan may still buy “Freedom-class” ships.
As for the littoral ships, the U.S. military will “age” or plan to retire as many as 54 ships between 2024 and 2027, and the “Constellation-class” frigates that are the most important to fill the gap in combat capability, according to the Navy’s five-year budget plan for fiscal year 2023. , 1 in fiscal 2023, 2 in 2024, 1 in 2025, 2 more in 2026, and finally 1 in fiscal 2027. And Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin spoke to the Navy for Fincantieri Marinette Marine, the local shipbuilder that built the “Constellation” class, hoping that the Navy would improve the technology and reduce the risk of key components on the ship. Considering the possibility of investing in the establishment of a “second shipyard”, the production capacity may be increased to 3 to 4 ships per year; at the same time, it will also create more employment opportunities for constituencies.
The U.S. Navy is striving to retire nine “Freedom-class” Littoral Combat Ships in fiscal year 2023, and is currently entering the congressional hearing process. Regarding the congressional questioning of the ship’s under-service life, Admiral Michael Gilday, chief of naval operations, proposed that “the Navy can Proposal for the transfer of planned decommissioning of Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ships to other countries”
A rendering of the U.S. Navy Constellation-class frigate. Photo: flipped by Marine nationale française
