Pivoting: First LCS sets sail for Singapore
The U.S. Navy’s first shallow-water littoral combat ship (LCS) is schedule to depart from San Diego for its new home in Singapore on Friday, providing one of the Pentagon’s most visible signs to date that the “pivot” toward Asia is underway. It is only a coincidence, however, that the USS Freedom ships out on the ...
The U.S. Navy’s first shallow-water littoral combat ship (LCS) is schedule to depart from San Diego for its new home in Singapore on Friday, providing one of the Pentagon’s most visible signs to date that the “pivot” toward Asia is underway.
The U.S. Navy’s first shallow-water littoral combat ship (LCS) is schedule to depart from San Diego for its new home in Singapore on Friday, providing one of the Pentagon’s most visible signs to date that the “pivot” toward Asia is underway.
It is only a coincidence, however, that the USS Freedom ships out on the same day sequestration budget cuts are due to kick in across the federal government. Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced in 2011 that the new ships would deploy to Singapore.
But it is no accident that the Pentagon, while searching for ways to meet mandated budget cuts, has kept the LCS program fully funded and on schedule. The USS Freedom is the first of four LCS vessels that will be deployed to Singapore.
“Even in the face of potential budget cuts, there should be no doubt that the U.S. Pacific Fleet remains on watch and that we will continue to deploy our most capable units forward to operate with our allies and partners,” said Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, in a statement.
“The USS Freedom’s deployment to Southeast Asia tomorrow is a tangible sign of our commitment to the Asia-Pacific region,” Maj. Cathy Wilkinson, Pentagon spokeswoman, told the E-Ring on Thursday. “The ship will serve as a platform for engagement with partners and allies in the region.”
It also serves as serious firepower. In waters in and around Southeast Asia, the fast-moving ships are intended to patrol maritime traffic with allied navies, including private oceangoing cargo ships and pirate threats, while monitoring the increasingly tenuous intent of Chinese vessels, all at the contested southern door to the South China Sea.
Navy officials say the ships also provide the United States with a more appropriately sized vessel to train with local navies. Most foreign navies do not have ships the size of U.S. Navy destroyers, frigates, or flat-top carriers.
But LCS ships face intense criticism. The Navy first commissioned two completely different hull designs, but then awarded contracts for 10 versions of each ship, claiming the competition and variety were good for costs and military requirements. But critics argue the per-ship cost has doubled from its original estimates, to $440 million, and warn the maintenance on two versions of the ship only will cost more in the long-run. Many analysts predict the program could be an easy target for DOD bean counters looking for quick budget cuts.
The Freedom is a single-hull vessel while the second LCS built, the USS Independence, is a three-hulled "trimaran." In September, the USS Fort Worth, with the single Freedom-class hull, was commissioned.
Until then, its full steam ahead. The Freedom will stop in Hawaii and Guam on its way westward. While deployed, the ship will remain officially homeported in San Diego as crews will rotate out to Singapore.
No word yet whether Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will visit the ship during the Shangri-La Dialogue, the annual June conference in Singapore of Asia-Pacific country defense ministers, should he attend.
Kevin Baron is a national security reporter for Foreign Policy, covering defense and military issues in Washington. He is also vice president of the Pentagon Press Association. Baron previously was a national security staff writer for National Journal, covering the "business of war." Prior to that, Baron worked in the resident daily Pentagon press corps as a reporter/photographer for Stars and Stripes. For three years with Stripes, Baron covered the building and traveled overseas extensively with the secretary of defense and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, covering official visits to Afghanistan and Iraq, the Middle East and Europe, China, Japan and South Korea, in more than a dozen countries. From 2004 to 2009, Baron was the Boston Globe Washington bureau's investigative projects reporter, covering defense, international affairs, lobbying and other issues. Before that, he muckraked at the Center for Public Integrity. Baron has reported on assignment from Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and the South Pacific. He was won two Polk Awards, among other honors. He has a B.A. in international studies from the University of Richmond and M.A. in media and public affairs from George Washington University. Originally from Orlando, Fla., Baron has lived in the Washington area since 1998 and currently resides in Northern Virginia with his wife, three sons, and the family dog, The Edge. Twitter: @FPBaron
More from Foreign Policy
At Long Last, the Foreign Service Gets the Netflix Treatment
Keri Russell gets Drexel furniture but no Senate confirmation hearing.
How Macron Is Blocking EU Strategy on Russia and China
As a strategic consensus emerges in Europe, France is in the way.
What the Bush-Obama China Memos Reveal
Newly declassified documents contain important lessons for U.S. China policy.
Russia’s Boom Business Goes Bust
Moscow’s arms exports have fallen to levels not seen since the Soviet Union’s collapse.
Sign up for World Brief
FP’s flagship evening newsletter guiding you through the most important world stories of the day. Delivered weekdays.
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.
