Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Easy solution if you just tilt your head a bit

Syndey said something earlier this year that has kind of stuck in my craw;
For now, until the LCS becomes fully operational, it’s up to the Cyclones to patrol the shallows.
Isn't LCS a little overkill? If you think the PC lacks a bit of punch as well, is there something that might be better for the job?

Well, what are the basics?
Cyclone Class PC
Displacement: 336 metric tons
Length: 55 m
Beam: 7.6 m
Draft: 2.3 m
Installed Power: 4 Paxman diesels;
Propulsion: 4 shafts;
Speed: 35 knots
Range: 2000-2500nm at 12knots, with transit fuel reserve
Crew: 4 officers, 24 enlisted personnel
Armament: 2 × MK 38 25 mm autocannon
5 ×.50 caliber machine guns
2 × MK 19 40 mm automatic grenade launchers
2 × M240B machine guns
6 × FIM-92 Stinger SAMs
Wait ... what do I see?

Ambassador Class Fast Missile Craft
Displacement: 500 t
Length: 60.6 m
Beam: 10 m
Draft: 2 m
Installed power: 4 × MTU diesels
Propulsion: 4 shafts
Speed: 41 knots
Range: 2,000 nmi at 15 knots
Crew: 8 officers, 28 enlisted
Armament: 8 × RGM-84 Boeing Harpoon SSM Block 1G in 2 quad canister launchers
1 × General Dynamics/OTO Melara Mk 75 76 mm/62 Super Rapid DP gun
1 × Mk 31 Mod 3 RIM-116 RAM (21 missiles)
1 × Raytheon Mk 15 Mod 21 Phalanx (Block 1B) 20 mm Phalanx CIWS
2 × deck-mounted 7.62 mm M60 machine guns
The Ambassador four ship run for Egypt ran $1.29 billion. That works out to ~$323 per ship.

We say that we will use LCS to replace what we now use the PC for. OK, let's use LCS-1 as the benchmark.
Displacement: 3,000 t
Length: 115 m
Beam: 17.5 m
Draft: 3.9 m
Installed power: Electrical: 4 Isotta Fraschini V1708 diesel engines, Hitzinger generator units, 800 kW each
Propulsion: 2 Rolls-Royce MT30 36 MW gas turbines, 2 Colt-Pielstick diesel engines, 4 Rolls-Royce waterjets
Speed: 47 knots
Range: 3,500 nmi at 18 knots
Boats & landing craft carried: 11 m (36 ft) RHIB, 40 ft (12 m) high-speed boats
Complement: 15 to 50 core crew, 75 with mission crew (closer to 100 with a mission module)
Armament: 1 AGM-176 Griffin (modified to function on a ship)
1x BAE Systems Mk 110 57 mm gun, 400 rounds in turret and two ready service magazines with 240 rounds each.[9]
4x .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns
2x 30 mm Mk44 Bushmaster II guns
One Mk 49 launcher with 21x RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile Surface-to-Air Missiles
Other weapons as part of mission modules
Aircraft carried:
2x MH-60R/S Seahawk
MQ-8 Fire Scout
You know, the production line is open. Economy of scale makes building them even less expensive. LCS is really a bit much to do what the PC are designed to do.

Why not? I don't know about you, but I would love to have a couple of dozen of these to give to our top-shelf junior LCDR to command ... heck maybe a senior LT or two ...

Sigh.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

uh, the PC doesn't do anything. We tried to give them to the USCG and they've given them back. Way to set the bar even lower. We've started to dig a trench now.