How the U.S. Navy Built $22 Billion Ships That Don’t Work
The Littoral Combat Ship was pitched as a revolution - small, blisteringly fast, lightly crewed, and able to swap missions like a Swiss Army knife. Instead, it became a case study in how a clever concept can collapse under real-world demands. Two competing hulls were bought at once, costs ballooned, reliability cratered, and the mission modules that were supposed to justify the whole idea arrived late, underpowered, or not at all. As breakdowns mounted and survivability doubts grew, the Navy began parking ships years ahead of schedule, keeping only the most useful variants for the narrow jobs they can still do well. The program’s legacy is less about what these ships achieved and more about what they taught - that you cannot modularize your way around physics, logistics, or combat reality. The intended correction was a return to a proven frigate model in the Constellation-class - but even that “back to basics” answer is now struggling with design growth, schedule slips, and, as of November 25, 2025, a decision to cancel the final four planned ships, leaving only the first two continuing under review.
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