The slow, staggering death of LCS continues ...

What did I say last week, from tragedy to farce? Now from farce to pell-mell collapse of an entire concept.

The rapid airborne mine clearance system, a Northrop Grumman system being tested as part of the mine counter-measure module of LCS, “has slid to the right, and it is not not testing well, but it is an expensive program,” Rear Adm. Frank Pandolfe, director of surface warfare division, said in a speech at the national symposium of the Surface Navy Association.

The system features a 30mm gun designed to detonate floating and shallow-water mines. It fires an armor-piercing tracer round, outfitted with fins, that vaporizes the water in front of it and reduces drag, according to a Northrop Grumman factsheet on the weapon.
...
Another anti-mine system is facing the ax. Pandolfe said that the reliability of the remote minehunting vehicle — a diesel-powered, semi-submersible sled that tows the AQS-20 sonar — is at “80 percent of where we need it to be.”

He added, “It’s on the right glide slope. It’s getting lots of attention. We’re going to get where we need to be.”

That PPT to reality transition is hard, isn't it? Expensive ... and avoidable if we had not created a climate of "sit down and shut up."

Throw more money at it, I guess - that is the only option anyone out there is talking about. Sad.

Hat tip Lee.