Another Defense Procurement Fail

The US Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) was billed as a modern replacement for the frigate.

It combines the size of a frigate with the firepower of the (smaller) corvette, with the (alleged) advantages of greater flexibility, through the use of swappable mission modules, and a smaller crew. (They also go like scorched cats, topping out at over 40 kts)

As I've noted earlier, the mission modules don's fit as well as they should, and now the navy has realized that they cannot run the ships at their current crewing levels, and they are increasing crewing levels by 50%:

Years after sailors and planners realized the crew size of littoral combat ships was too small, the U.S. Navy has decided to increase the number of sailors on the ships.

The changes will be made on the first LCS, the Freedom, starting in July — in time to beef up the crews for next year’s 10-month deployment to Singapore.

Twenty additional berths will be permanently installed onboard Freedom — two for officers, two for chief petty officers and 16 for other enlisted — but the final manning plan has yet to be decided, Rear Adm. Thomas Rowden, the director of surface warfare, said during a June 26 interview at the Pentagon. The ship right now has a core crew of 40, but because there is no manning plan, it’s still unclear how many sailors will be added to the crews.

The added billets “will run the gamut, from support to engineering to operations to boatswain’s mates,” Rowden said. “We’ve got to get the right skill set and the right seniority.”

Among the known manning deficiencies is the need for more junior sailors, Rowden said. LCS crews tend to be more senior, reflecting the need for sailors with multiple qualifications in a small ship.

So, the latest whiz bang navy idea appears to have failed to achieve every one of its goals.