The LCS concept assumes a littoral operating environment with limited ability to defend itself against peer opponents. Perry-class frigates also depended on support, but they served alongside more large surface combatants and carriers. The LCS arrived as that supporting force was shrinking. The historical analogy offered here is an early torpedo boat or torpedo-boat destroyer operating in the Channel or Mediterranean. That comparison identifies a mismatch between a coastal combat concept and the demands of modern Atlantic or Pacific operations.
Notable Point · 44:16-45:51
The LCS mission concept and declining fleet protection
The LCS faced limited peer-war self-protection while entering a fleet with fewer large ships available to support it.