Q&A · 2:44:11-2:50:42

LCS as a naval Atari 2600 moment

The Littoral Combat Ship is criticised as an appealing concept whose speed requirement distorted its usefulness as an escort.

Question

What naval programme is most comparable to the Atari 2600 fiasco?

Short answer

The Littoral Combat Ship: it looked compelling on paper, but its speed-led design did not deliver the combat capability or endurance required.

Notes

The 40-plus-knot requirement is treated as an expensive answer to missions that helicopters and boats could already address. Small craft and drug runners did not require an entire surface combatant to match their speed when an embarked helicopter could intercept them. The ship could keep pace with carriers in theory, but lacked the endurance and weapons for the escort role implied by that speed. The result was a highly developed hull built around a headline requirement that did not align with its practical missions.