First Four US Navy Littoral Combat Ships Set to be Mothballed

littoral combat ships USS Freedom (LCS 1), left, and USS Independence (LCS 2)
SAN DIEGO (May 2, 2012) The first of class littoral combat ships USS Freedom (LCS 1), left, and USS Independence (LCS 2), maneuver together during an exercise off the coast of Southern California. The littoral combat ship is a fast, agile, networked surface combatant designed to operate in the near-shore environment, while capable of open-ocean tasking, and win against 21st-century coastal threats such as submarines, mines, and swarming small craft. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Jan Shultis/Released)
The U.S. Navy is looking to decommission 8 vessels in 2021. Pending approval from Congress, the plan would see the first four Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) being mothballed.
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The information surfaced in a June 20 message from the chief of naval operations (CNO). Littoral combat ships USS Freedom (LCS 1), USS Independence (LCS 2), USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) and USS Coronado (LCS 4) will all be placed “Out of Commission In Reserve” (OCIR) on 31 March 2021 along with Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43).

The CNO statement reads:

To facilitate fleet planning efforts to conduct decommissioning 
continuous maintenance availability (CMAV) or inactivation availability 
(INAC), the projected schedule for inactivating U.S. battle force and non 
battle force naval vessels in FY21 is promulgated as follows:

Ship Name		Proj Inactive Date	Post Inactive Status
USS ZEPHYR		31 Mar 2021            	Dismantle
(PC 8)
USS SHAMAL		31 Mar 2021            	Dismantle
(PC 13)
USS TORNADO	        31 Mar 2021            	Dismantle
(PC 14)
USNS SIOUX		30 Sep 2021            	Dismantle
(T-ATF 171)
USS FORT MCHENRY	31 Mar 2021           	OCIR
(LSD 43)
USS FREEDOM      	31 Mar 2021		OCIR
(LCS 1)
USS INDEPENDENCE	31 Mar 2021		OCIR
(LCS 2)
USS FORT WORTH	        31 Mar 2021		OCIR
(LCS 3)
USS CORONADO	        31 Mar 2021		OCIR

This is a surprising development as all four LCS are fairly new vessels, having been commissioned between October 2008 and April 2014. In addition, the announcement follows the delivery of USS Oakland (LCS 24) last week, which brought the number of ships in the US Navy inventory up to 300 (edging closer to President Trump’s wish to see the number grow to 355 ships by 2030).

As reported by Defense News, citing a Navy official, the first four LCS were more prototypes / test vessels than true warships: “they’re not configured like the other LCS in the fleet, and they need significant upgrades. Everything from combat [systems], to structural, you name it. They’re expensive to upgrade.”

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