Why Is the U.S. Navy Retiring a Littoral Combat Ship So Early?
By
Caleb Larson
USS Independence Retirement
One of the United States Navy’s Littoral Combat Ships is heading for early retirement, despite the host of high tech features
Why Now?
In a statement, the United States Navy announced that the USS Independence, the lead of the Independence-class of Littoral Combat Ships, is now decommissioned after just over a decade of service.
Littoral Combat Ships
The LCS is actually represented by two different classes of ship: the Freedom-class, a more traditional steel monohull design, and the Independence-class, a much more advanced aluminum trimaran design. As the name suggests, both LCS types are intended to operate in coastal waters rather than in the open ocean.
As a multi-mission platform, both ships come with mission modules that can be rapidly exchanged and allow the ships to conduct various missions, from mine-laying, anti-submarine operations, or anti-ship surface operations.
https://www.19fortyfive.com/2021/08/why-is-the-u-s-navy-retiring-a-littoral-combat-ship-so-early/
