Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled “Independence-Class Littoral Combat Ship” and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/independence-class-littoral-combat-ship/.


And just as senseless were the pseudo-requirements generated by the magical word "GWOT." We couldn't just fight a war with what we had but taking a knee to GWOT meant money and fun gadgets and oddball concepts. The LCS just happens to be one of the most obvious and disastrous results of this war against a tactic rather than an enemy. The Army is just as culpable in this mess.This all goes back to the end of the Cold War (~1990-ish) and Bush #1 and Dick Cheney (Sec.of Defense) who declared that naval military action would be "littoral" from then on with no near-peer (aka Soviet Naval) threats and subsequently cancelled/retired blue water assets and long-range naval aircraft like the existing A-6, F-14, S-3 and the A-12, then in development, and started experimenting with the LCS and Zummwalts. They decided to develop the F/A-18E/F to fit into that philosophy.
Time has shown that those descisions where short-sighted and a waste of $$.
Also, Bush #1 was a big supporter of the Chinese and started the slippery slope that we're stuck in now.
And just as senseless were the pseudo-requirements generated by the magical word "GWOT." We couldn't just fight a war with what we had but taking a knee to GWOT meant money and fun gadgets and oddball concepts. The LCS just happens to be one of the most obvious and disastrous results of this war against a tactic rather than an enemy. The Army is just as culpable in this mess.