How Thornycroft might have rebuilt the LCS concept

A Thornycroft littoral combat ship would likely meet the speed requirement and preserve basic corrosion protection, but it would also become a distinct yard design rather than a literal execution of the customer drawings.

Question

How would Thornycroft react to being asked to build a littoral combat ship?

Short answer

It would probably deliver a fast, workable, slightly larger Thornycroft vessel and refuse omissions such as adequate anodes, while treating the supplied plans as guidelines.

Notes

A Thornycroft LCS is imagined as a sound ship that meets its speed requirement and retains adequate anodes. A workable hull would make failures in mission systems and coordination between contractors harder to attribute to ship construction. When the question returns, the yard is expected to enlarge the design slightly and pursue additional speed. This follows the portrayal of Thornycroft as a builder that treated official plans as guidelines while delivering quality the Royal Navy accepted.