Was over at ID reading about the Navy testing the Griffin missile.
All things considered aren't guns simply a better solution? The ranges that we're talking about are well within gun range and if you include your close in weapon systems in the fight then you're talking about almost all Navy warships having a built in advantage against small ships...and that's before you even think about placing crew served guns on deck.
I think we're talking about an issue of tactics and perhaps strategy more than a technological issue. Swarming missile attacks? Potentially a tech problem. Swarming boats? Loosen up your rules of engagement and declare an exclusion zone around US warships and this problem is solved.
I'd suggest the original 40km NLOS system was too short ranged and the 5km system that replaced NLOS is a total joke. The entire premise that because we can blow away the Iranian Navy in an afternoon, see Operation Praying Mantis, that they will then rely upon small boats and that this is some magical threat is ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteTo then, however, design a frigate primarily around this small boat threat is dangerously irrational. If this was really a concern you go with a 300 to 500 ton boat, exactly like the original Street fighter concept. That boat was actually called LCS once upon a time.
Of course all this ignores the small matter of blowing away the small boats before they put to sea, going after their C3I so they don't know where to go, engaging them before they get within their weapons range with myriad types of aircraft, etc.
When you design a warship to deal with the bottom end of the threat spectrum, and only the bottom end, you're living in some bizarre fantasy world where the low end threat is the most serious and the actual anti ship missiles systems everyone in the world actually deploys magically don't exist for swarm fighting LCS.
The world's navies are full of 50 to 500 ton missile boats that actually are a serious threat to LCS due to systems that far out range anything on LCS besides her helicopters. Dozens of navies have frigates in service able that can carry one or two helicopters and in addition can actually engage other real warships with anti ship missiles, engage aircraft with point defense and/or area systems, perform ASW, engage in convoy escort, possibly perform NGS, radar picket, and/or operate as part of a task group. LCS conceptually is a complete joke.
If you notice missile had hard time sinking a small recreational fishing boat, not to mention that the fake superstructure looked like some plywood and cardboard held together with ducttape and some staples.Not much Bang for money ,a 57mm or 76mm gun could have done the job for the fraction of the cost
ReplyDeleteNow this is a missile you can buy of the shelf
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9pmapBgw5w
The United States Navy of the Obama administration will concentrate on losing any and all wars.
ReplyDeleteThat's his and the democrats big plan to punish America for the Iraq war, racism, homophobia, winning the cold war, Bush, slavery and just to be sure...whitey.
It's not about winning anymore it's all about losing catastrophically to get back at whitey.
Once you see this through the eyes of an anti American democrat who wants this nation destroyed the pieces all fall into place.
The man wants us to suffer.