The industrial case for two LCS production lines

Can ordering both LCS variants into production be defended?

Yes; the second line preserved shipyard viability and additional surge capacity even if one design would have simplified the fleet.

One standardized ship might look cleaner on paper and simplify support. Two active production lines, however, sustain more shipyards, workers, suppliers, and construction knowledge. That redundancy is strategic infrastructure rather than mere program duplication. If an emergency demands rapid fleet expansion, preserved parallel capacity may be worth the peacetime inefficiency of operating both LCS variants.