LCS-1 Navy Trials and LCS Export

We don't often hear about the Saudi Arabian interest in the Littoral Combat Ship, but Saudi Arabia does want the LCS. Like Israel, Saudi Arabia is looking for a modified version of the LCS. It is unclear exactly what technologies would be made available with a Saudi Arabian version of the Littoral Combat Ship, but rumors abound regarding the requirements. We have heard a mine warfare command station is part of the requirement, and AEGIS is desired. We won't know until the final design, but we do have new information regarding when the decision will be made.

The last few paragraphs of this article give the entire story.

Moosally said he expected Israel to sign a deal for LCS ships sometime next year. Saudi Arabia had also expressed interest, but it appeared to be waiting for the Navy's next contract before finalizing its choice of the LCS design.

Moosally said the Lockheed team was "tweaking" certain features ahead of four days of Navy sea trials in Lake Michigan next week, but no significant issues had arisen during the company-run tests over the past two weeks.

Captain Moosally is president of Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems & Sensors, responsible for delivery of Freedom (LCS-1), and is also responsible for the C4ISR systems on board the first National Security Cutter. Yes, that Capt. Moosally.

Given the impossible task of building the LCS with an immature design and while NVR changes were taking place during construction, we give Capt. Moosally a lot of credit for getting the ship to this point. The US needs to be exporting the LCS, and Lockheed Martin's impending deal with Israel is a good first step. We won't be surprised when General Dynamics wins the Saudi Arabian contract.

The article goes on to complain about the fixed cost cap. We don't think it will matter beyond the next one or two ships, so we don't plan on spending much time thinking about it. At the end of the day, based on everything we have seen, the Navy will build 5 Flight 0 Littoral Combat Ships and do some "tweaking" to the design itself before building the next 50. It will be interesting to see what the Navy 'tweaks,' but considering the high cost and low return for super speed, we may see that requirement get dropped as the ship looks to become more survivable.

You never know, maybe the Navy will come to their senses and build a real frigate. One only hopes...