By Geoff Fein
Next month, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) and the Commandant of the Coast Guard will discuss opportunities to share systems between the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and the Coast Guard’s National Security Cutter (NSC) that could eventually lead to talks on the applications of the two hulls.
Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen, told attendees at the annual Surface Navy Association symposium yesterday that LCS and the NSC operate in different mission environments.
The Coast Guard places a high premium on endurance because it operates independently, a great distance from shore, he said. LCS, on the other hand, is designed for agility and speed and to reduce the business of operations at a higher speed. Additionally, LCS is usually operating in the presence of an oiler, with ability to refuel.
“Those are very different models of operation, but they are not mutually exclusive regarding applications of these hulls,” Allen added during his speech.
Right now, between the two platforms, the Navy and Coast Guard are looking at systems like the 57mm gun, fire control, radars, and electronic warfare, Allen said. Down the road, the two services will look at other systems, including generator sets, he added.
“I do believe, however, that sooner or later we need to engage in a discussion about the application of these hulls, because there are some places where the National Security Cutter will effectively carry out long-range missions using a single platform to be helpful in the global fleet station and some of the initiatives contemplated in the maritime strategy,” Allen said. “On the other hand, with the speed and sprint capability and mission packages contemplated for LCS, there are areas we operate in that that might be useful for the Coast Guard.”
Allen added that discussions about the two programs need to continue and he has every intention of doing that with CNO Adm. Gary Roughead.
“I fully expect our historic testifying before Congress will be repeated several times in the coming year,” Allen said.
On Dec. 13, Allen, Roughead, and Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway testified before the House Armed Services Committee about the new maritime strategy. It was the first time all three service chiefs testified together before Congress.
Both the Navy and Coast Guard were asked at the hearing about developing common hull forms for their ships to trim the cost of building ships as well as eliminating some of the problems that have arisen in both services’ shipbuilding efforts.
“That conversation has started a year and a half ago,” Allen told lawmakers. “Adm. Roughead and I are scheduled to meet after the first of the year…an ongoing series of warfighter talks, and the topic of that meeting is a side-by-side comparison of LCS and [the] NSC. Not just hull forms, but systems and subsystems, the deck gun, radar… (Defense Daily, Dec. 14).”