Marines, Navy Wrestle With How To Upgun Amphibs
The Marines want Vertical Launch System missile tubes on their new amphibious ships -- but the Navy isn't planning to leave room for them.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. on January 18, 2019 at 1:41 PM
The amphibious ship USS San Antonio, LPD-17.
ARLINGTON: The Marines want better-armed amphibious warships for high-end combat, but there’s no money in the budget and little room on the ships for their preferred solution, the Vertical Launch System. That leaves them looking at less capable but more affordable upgrades. Those range from bolting small Naval Strike Missile pods onto the deck – as on the Littoral Combat Ship – to parking a HIMARS missile-launcher truck on the back of the ship – as they tested during last year’s Dawn Blitz wargames.
Navy photo
Why does this matter? In a major war against Russia or China, or even Iran, amphibious warships — as currently equipped — would have to rely on escorting destroyers both defensively, to shoot down attacking missiles and airplanes, and offensively, sinking enemy ships and bombarding targets ashore.
https://breakingdefense.com/2019/01/marines-navy-wrestle-with-how-to-upgun-amphibs/
