The LCS programme began in 2001 with a smaller ship whose interchangeable mission packages would cover anti-submarine warfare, mine countermeasures, and combat against smaller surface vessels. Maritime security, reconnaissance, partnerships, and special-forces support were further intended uses. The figures quoted here put initial unit estimates at $220 million and later costs at $478 million, while some mission packages were delayed by as much as twelve years. Construction faults, propulsion failures, armament, and survivability all drew criticism. By the account's 2018 position, 32 vessels were being procured from a programme originally intended to exceed fifty. The assessment then turns to Zumwalt, another ambitious programme reduced to a very small class. Both examples connect the capability promised for an individual design with the number of usable ships ultimately available.
Notable Point · 4:47:21-4:52:10
LCS and Zumwalt: ambitious requirements and shrinking classes
Delayed LCS mission packages, higher costs, and construction problems show how a modular fleet proposal lost much of its original scale. Zumwalt provides a parallel case.