Saudi Arabia Wants a Littoral Combat Ship Fleet

In July I pointed out that Saudi Arabia was interested in the purchasing the Littoral Combat Ship, specifically the General Dynamics version. Saudi Arabia has been advertising since 2005 that they were interested in purchasing 4-6 Patrol Frigates and 6-8 Corvettes in 2007. 2007 would be year two in a three year massive military purchasing spree, which started with Army and Air Force purchases in 2006 and will conclude in 2008 with athe purchase of new submarines. It was originally thought Saudi Arabia was going to purchase the French FREMM, but it appears the Multi-Mission Combatant (MMC) version of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is getting all the attention lately.

The Saudis are not known for the skill of their military commanders. Their military is among the most spectacularly equipped in the world, which only serves to emphasize the poor quality of its leaders, soldiers, airmen, and sailors. This lack of large scale proficiency is Saudi Arabia's weakness.

That is why with the $20 billion in spending discussed for Saudi Arabia, most of it will ultimately go for training. We are already seeing a lot of this with the purchases so far, if you read the details of the specific purchases for the Saudi Air Force and Army over the last year and a half, you will notice the price is far and above the equipment costs. That is because Saudi Arabia understands that it needs better military training, something our defense industry provides, and is working on that problem.

When you talk about naval vessels, it is noteworthy the MMC version of the Littoral Combat Ship has a crew roughly a third of the Riyadh-class frigate. Not surprising then, in leading up to the purchase of Littoral Combat Ships, it was disclosed that Saudi Arabia is looking for as many as 12 warships and is looking to spend between $11 - $13 billion dollars, which as you might guess, is high for 12 Littoral Combat Ships because it includes training costs.

The coming sales may include Patriot anti-missile battery upgrades for several countries, plus a new class of shore- patrolling warships for Saudi Arabia's eastern fleet, according to retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kohler, who held talks on the matter before stepping down in August as the Pentagon's top arms-sale official.

The warship piece "of the so-called package could run as high as $11 to $13 billion and take well over a decade before delivery of the last ship" of up to 12 vessels, he said in a telephone interview.

Eastern Fleet. Iran. Iran has risen far enough for both Riyadh and Washington's tastes. With the minimal crew size of the LCS MMC, a well trained crew of sailors would be able to field a formidable force of LCS MMCs to curb Iranian influences at sea in the Persian Gulf. The LCS MMC could be the right tool for Saudi Arabia to push back against Iran in the Gulf, something the US is tired of doing without regional assistance. While it has been reported that Lockheed Martin was pushing the LCS at the Dubai Air Show, the characteristics of the General Dynamics MMC LCS previously discussed for Saudi Arabia.

Principal Characteristics:
LOA: 127.6m
Beam: 31.6m
Draft: 4.4m
Displacement Full Load: 3120MT
Max. Speed (Light Load): >40 knots
Range: Cruise @16 knots: 4,500 nm
Sprint @ 36 knots: 1,500 nm
Mission Bay: 1,100 sqm (11,800 sqft)
Flight Deck: 1,030 sqm (11,100 sqft)
Accommodation: 110 personnel

Armament Options Include:
32 Missile Vertical Launch System
1 57mm Gun (Forward)
8 Harpoon Missiles
2 Close-in Weapons systems
6 ASW Torpedoes

Propulsion and Electrical:
Gas Turbines (2)
Diesels (2)
Waterjets (4) and Retractable Azi Thruster
Diesel Generators (4)

While there is legitimate reasons why the JDAM should be discussed, and perhaps not be given to Saudi Arabia within the context of the current proposed defense sales, the MMC version (either GD or LM) of the Littoral Combat Ship is the most appropriate defense sale the US is making to the region outside of Patriot missiles. The name of the game in the Persian Gulf is security. The MMCs proposed supposedly come not only with AEGIS but additionally a ~1000 sq meter modular command center (which I've heard rumors is intended for MIW), which to me appears absolutely perfect for both the defense and security requirements of the maritime environment of that region.