How can Saudi Arabia's MMSC avoid the failures of the Littoral Combat Ship?
Short answerDifferent combining gear and a reported willingness to spend on reducing risk are the main distinctions; complete freedom from problems is not established.
NotesThe Saudi MMSC question concerns how a Freedom-derived ship might avoid the problems associated with LCS. Different combining gear is identified, while waterjets remain. Clarke also draws on conversations with industry contacts to describe Saudi buyers as strongly averse to risk and willing to fund measures that reduce it. That account concerns the customer's procurement behaviour, rather than a guarantee of the ships' reliability. No operating results are supplied to demonstrate the removal of all inherited problems.