The first operational deployment of the USS Freedom (LCS-1) remains an ongoing disaster. The latest snafu occurred while the Freedom was operating off the coast of Singapore. There, and on July 20th, the Freedom temporarily lost propulsive power. Though the ship's crew quickly fixed the problem (according to the US Navy LCS-1 was a sitting duck for "only" minutes rather than hours - as if the one would have been better than the other in an active combat environment) they were forced to return to port for more extended repair and maintenance.
In January we reported that the U.S. Navy was preparing the first monohull designed LCS 1 (littoral combat ship) USS Freedom (in contrast to the trimaran design LCS 2 USS Independence) for its first deployment. This was welcome news considering the bevy of mechanical issues that had cropped up during sea trials in 2011.
Of course, on the eve of that deployment the roughly 3,000 ton combat ship was blasted in a report issued by the Defense Department’s director of operational test and evaluation. A report that concluded the USS Freedom is "not expected to be survivable" in combat and unable to
Let's start with the good news. The Navy is preparing the first monohull designed LCS 1 (littoral combat ship) USS Freedom (in contrast to the trimaran design LCS 2 USS Independence) for its first deployment. This is welcome news since it has been just over four years since the Freedom was commissioned. Of course the discovery of cracks in the hull and superstructure and a shaft seal leak during sea trials in 2011 (requiring six weeks in dry dock) didn't help matters, but, and more good news, these problems have been fixed.
Now, for those of you new to the LCS drama, what we are looking at
