Long a contentious and divisive programme, criticised most recently for being under-armed and ill-prepared to deal with evolving threats such as those posed by the Chinese Navy, and because of problems with the development and integration of its various mission packages, the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) was damned in a 5 February letter to US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Admiral Richardson from the Chairman of the SASC, Senator John McCain and others. "Last week, we received the annual report from the Department of Defense's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E). The report raised troubling questions about the Pentagons ability to develop and procure weapon systems in an effective, timely, and affordable manner," the letter said. "We are particularly concerned with the report's assessment of the LCS and its associated mission packages. More than seven years after the first LCS was delivered, the report makes clear the programme remains mired in testing delays with an unclear path ahead.
展开▼
