Another new LCS mission — BMD picket?
November 17th, 2009 | Ballistic missile defense Blogs Foreign navies Science and technology Ships The Middle East | Posted by Phil Ewing
An international export version of Lockheed's littoral combat ship fired an imaginary missile in this artist's conception. The company is now saying it can augment its Aegis-edition LCSes with ballistic missile defense capability // Lockheed Martin
As Galrahn and Phib discuss the latest news about the littoral combat ship Freedom’s upcoming deployment, one of our senior shipmates at Defense News has some other interesting LCS gouge: This week at the Dubai Air Show, Lockheed Martin is pitching a “Surface Combat Ship” to the navies of the Gulf states — a variant of its Freedom-class LCS modded with Aegis radar and ballistic missile defense capability.
LockMart and its LCS rival, General Dynamics, both have shown off concepts for Aegis-equipped export versions of their designs, but neither of the trade-show fliers just pulled from Scoop Deck’s desk drawer say anything about BMD. They do include the possibility of a Mk 41 Vertical Launch System — which the U.S. Navy’s version doesn’t have — that could carry a battery of SM-3 or SM-6 interceptors. Or, as Defense News’s Pierre Tran wrote, an Aegis BMD LCS could be the eyes for land-based missiles:
Given fears in the region of a possible missile attack from Iran, a deployment of the Surface Combat Ship in the narrow waters of the Gulf would provide early warning of a missile launch and allow early destruction in the upper atmosphere by the SM-3 missile or at lower altitude by the Patriot PAC3 or other weapon.
No word on the price tag for this souped-up “SCS,” but given the cost issues the first two LCSes have had, it could be steep. It could also have implications for the U.S. Navy’s pending mission as the BMD protector of Europe, for which commanders could want as many hulls as possible, maybe including cruisers, destroyers and BMD-LCSes.
Comments
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Springboard Says:
November 17th, 2009 at 2:23 pmWell, if it wants to be a picket, it’ll need a heck of a lot more fuel. Those radars don’t run on good intentions alone…they need power.
But in the close confines of the Baltics, sure, hey, yeah…if we can insure that these guys can get the gas they need when they need it.
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Cap'n Bill Says:
November 20th, 2009 at 10:21 pmIf stationed within easy land access endurance would not be a problem. One could even barge fuel out to the ship with helo unrep for material and food/drink–might even bring some guests aboard for Sat nite parties.
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The Scoop Deck – Turn back the clock: An LCS for Saudi Arabia? Says:
September 14th, 2010 at 12:25 pm[...] Even after all that, Lockheed Marin never gave up on the idea of selling an international version of its LCS design, and it continued pitching a ballistic missile defense-capable “Surface Combat Ship” as we reported here last year. [...]