This concept design was completed in a twosemester ship design course at virginia tech. The littoral combat ship lcs is a new family of surface ships for the us navy. Antisubmarine warfare asw is an increasingly complex and challenging aspect of maritime warfare. Aug 17, 2014 littoral warfare is the art of fighting a war in the areas of the sea close to the coastline, around islands, in the middle of restricted water bodies, in short, away from the deep ocean. A number of environmental parameters can have strong impacts on mine warfare operations.
In military and naval warfare, littoral combat is operations in and around the littoral zone, within a certain distance of shore, including surveillance, mineclearing and support for landing operations and other types of combat shifting from water to ground, and back. Matt spent the next 12 years at sea, punctuated by promotional and professional. On 14 june 2017, the littoral warfare unit became hmnzs matataua, complete with new badge, deck plate, flagpole and the presentation of a ceremonial taiaha. This manual made it possible for forces composed of diverse types, and indoctrinated under. Littoral combat ship center for strategic and budgetary. Concept for future naval mine countermeasures in littoral power projection a 21st century warfighting concept j. The littoral combat ship is being developed in a current u. The littoral combat ship lcs is a set of two classes of relatively small surface vessels designed for operations near shore by the united states navy. Introduction littoral warfare is the art of fighting a war in the areas of the sea close to the coastline, around islands, in the middle of restricted water bodies, in short, away from the deep ocean. Thus was born the littoral combat ship, an agile warship constructed from the keel up to operate effectively in the shallow, crowded, dangerous environment of the littorals. The case described was that of a notional crisis in nigeria with the need to assist the fragile nigerian government in protection of its oil infrastructure.
On littoral warfare relatively rare because of the rapidity and possibly drastic changes in the tactical and operational situations, warfare in the littorals requires a highly decentralized command and control c2 this means a true application of germanstyle mission commandotherwise, success will be wanting importance. Naval service roles and missions in littoral warfare. Autonomous vehicles, augmented reality systems and advanced wireless networks were among over 50 new technologies showcased during a recent us military exercise. On littoral warfare us naval war college digital commons. An officers sketches of the attack on the narrows on march 18, 1915 the allies fleet of 16 battleships attempt to force their way through the dardanelles. The strategic need to gain access and operate in and around the littorals was taken up by the chief of naval operations strategic studies group ssg housed at the naval war college.
Often with peacekeeping operations a friendly airfield is far away the gulf war was an exception but could have been very different had saddam hussein invaded saudi arabia sea going carriers can now provide this. The antisubmarine warfare, mine countermeasures, and surface warfare missions associated. Littoral warfare definition of littoral warfare by the. To do so, it explores security issues associated with each of the five great maritime basins that make up the long littoral the sea of japan, the east china and yellow seas, the south china sea, the bay of bengal, and the arabian sea. So might the lack of a sound theory of littoral warfare, operational concepts, and doctrine. Whatever character littoral naval warfare takes on in the future, its north star will always be sea control. Littoral operations in a contested environment loce. Hmnzs matataua is a commissioned ship in the rnzn and is made up of three distinctive groups hydrographers, divers, and logistics that operate primarily within the littoral or coastal waters matataua provides deployable maritime capabilities to conduct operations that safeguard access to the harbours, inshore waters and littoral zones of new zealand and wherever new zealand.
Lifecycle cost estimates of littoral combat ship lcs and various navy surface ships in constant fiscal year 2014 dollars 25 figure 6. Edt october 25, 2015 washington the us navys push to increase the lethality of the littoral combat ship lcs is getting a major and somewhat unexpected boost with word that an overthehorizon oth surfacetosurface missile will be installed onboard the next lcss to deploy. Indeed, without an overarching conceptual framework to orient naval planners, it wont be possible to organize and train littoral forces, work with other services, or ally. The extent of littoral zone can vary widely depending on the customer, but generally it extends from the shoreline to the 200 meter depth contour out into the water and from the shoreline. Navy tactics, doctrine, and training requirements for. There are actually two different stories behind the lcs, one about the emergence of new threats and missions, the other about the use of new technology and tactics. Littoral warfare definition of littoral warfare by the free. Claire apthorp tuned in as experts from industry, academia and the naval research and development establishment came together to explore new. Friedman is a wargame analyst, an officer in the united states marine corps reserve and an associate editor for the strategy bridge. It was envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant capable of defeating antiaccess and asymmetric threats in the littorals. The littoral battlespace the maritime domain consists of the oceans, seas, bays, estuaries, islands, coastal areas, and the airspace above these, including the littorals.
A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Right now, the littoral combat ship is the bird in the hand. Littoral and mine warfare how is littoral and mine warfare abbreviated. Built sometimes by lockheed martin, other times by general dynamics or austal, americas littoral combat ship may well be the most derided warship in u. The sslw requirement is based on the need for a technologically advanced, covert, and small submarine capable of entering the littoral area. Rethinking littoral warfare by ong weichong the release of the investigation result on the sinking of roks cheonan established beyond reasonable doubt that a cht02d acousticwake homing torpedo of north korean manufacture was responsible for the sinking of the 1200 tonne corvette. The littoral combat ship and irregular warfare second. Pdf evaluation of the littoral combat ship lcs potential. Littoral combat ships are comparable to the corvettes found in other navies. Usn visual service 02042010 also, the lcs can be linked to other maritime assets to execute the mission as required leveraging this isr information. The sslw requirement is based on the need for a small, maneuverable vehicle to support special warfare operations. Gone is the potential at least for the foreseeable future for great fleet engagements between carrier or battleship groups, instead the new role of naval forces is supporting the land war.
Rethinking littoral warfare by ong weichong canadian. The lcs is a fast, highly manoeuvrable, networked surface combat ship, which is a specialised variant of the family of us future surface combat ships known as dd x. Lcs to get missiles for next deployment by christopher p. Levin waiopehu tramping club levin, new zealand lwtc.
Sep 14, 2011 the littoral combat ship uss freedom, the guidedmissile cruiser uss bunker hill and the nimitzclass aircraft carrier uss carl vinson steam alongside each other in formation. Austals independence variant littoral combat ship lcs, developed for the us navy, is a highspeed, agile, multimission combatant that delivers superior seakeeping and performance. The littoral combat ship lcs is the us navy new family of. Complexity of military conflict new england complex. Multiscale complex systems analysis of littoral warfare.
Littoral warfare the phrase littoral environment is often taken to mean low threat environment when in fact it is the highest threat environment a warship could find itself in. Littoral and mine warfare how is littoral and mine. The navy originally ordered two independenceclass littoral combat ships, the lead ship independence lcs2 and coronado lcs4, named in march 2009 by thensecretary of the navy donald c. As naval warfare enters the 21st century the balance and role of naval operations is changing drastically. Littoral warfare comprises two aspects of military operations near large bodies of water. The freedom and independence variant of the littoral combat ship is the u. This kind of warfare is drastically different from open ocean naval. Extent of overlap in billets between littoral combat ship lcs core crew and missionmodule crews 40 figure 7.
The littoral zone is defined as the coastal sea areas and that portion of the land which is susceptible to influence or support from the sea. Lcs is designed to meet the urgent requirement for shallowdraft vessels to operate in the. Littoral combat ship open ocean antisubmarine warfare 311124oteam lcs theresa lee thomas murphy lcdr matthew menza, usn wildin simon submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of science in systems engineering and lt thelmar rosarda, usn sean rath for the degree of master of science in engineering systems. The development of littoral combat ship lcs by scott truver is making a new concept of maritime operations of the us navy. Oct 22, 2009 littoral warfare the phrase littoral environment is often taken to mean low threat environment when in fact it is the highest threat environment a warship could find itself in. Navy program to improve force maneuverability as well as to. The littoral mine warfare challenge january 27, 2016 guest author 2 comments title photo. Development of a littoral warfare submarine sslw for the united states navy. Littoral and mine warfare how is littoral and mine warfare. The ssg is a group of naval officers that undertakes special studies for the cno on innovative naval warfare concepts. Technologically advanced countries such as germany, sweden, and france continue to develop advances in diesel submarine technology that make these.
How we got here, and why lcs will contribute to sea shield through its unique capability to respond quickly, to operate in the littoral environment, and to conduct focused missions with a variety of networked offboard systems. Navy tactics, doctrine, and training requirements for littoral warfare. These factors, discussed below, can affect operations directly, as with the influence of currents on diver operations and sediment transport, or they can influence sensor performance, as is the case for water column and seafloor acoustic properties. On littoral warfare 15 apr 2015 by milan vego for us naval war college according to milan vego, littoral warfare requires a reliable theory if its to be done properly. Navys newest warship and is a fast, agile, focusedmission platform designed for operation in nearshore.
The program focuses on three mission areas within the littoral surface warfare operations which. The littoral combat ship and irregular warfare second line. Those regions relating to or existing on a shore or coastal region, within direct control of and vulnerable to the striking power of naval expeditionary forces. Within 21 st century discussions of littoral warfare challenges, the concept. This manual made it possible for forces composed of diverse types, and. Littoral warfare training center how is littoral warfare.
Pdf a science team for the littoral warfare advanced. The lack of adequate capabilities for littoral warfare could cost a bluewater force like the u. Concept for future naval mine countermeasures in littoral. Delaying planned frigate acquisition would enable better informed decisions. The littoral warfare advanced development lwad program fulfills the need for atsea testing of littoral antisubmarine warfare technologies by providing science, planning, and logistic support. The littoral combat ships uss independence, left, and uss coronado operate in the pacific. Littoral charts the littoral zone is defined as the coastal sea areas and that portion of the land which is susceptible to influence or support from the sea. Manual has established a standardized tactical training strategy designed to achieve. Navys newest class of surface combatants lcs to meet the challenging. Most modern navys are now adapting to support ground troops with precision attacks and air support the so called littoral warfare. The lcs program is poised to deliver seaframes tailored to suit the. Littoral operations in a contested environment marine corps.
The independence variant lcs is an open ocean capable vessel but is designed to defeat growing littoral threats and provide access and dominance in the coastal water battlespace. Mine warfare surface warfare maritime interdiction interception operations homeland defense antiterrorism force protection littoral combat shipisrael or lcsi is the next generation surface combatant for the israeli navy. When we combine the requirement of a sufficient complexity at each scale of a task. A number of systems were tested in this sphere, including the mine warfare rapid assessment capability miw rac. The program executive office peo lcs was created to align several program offices into a single consolidated peo which focused entirely on delivering the lcs program in july 2011. This kind of warfare is drastically different from open ocean naval warfare.
Littoral combat ship lcs preliminary design 7 months program planning, scheduling, resourcing, contracting, and monitoring to complete the lcs preliminary design system engineering including carpet plots caiv specified performance document and performance spec mission modularity and tech insertion and refresh. The lcs will combine data from offboard sensor suites carried by unmanned. The extent of littoral zone can vary widely depending on the customer, but generally it extends from the shoreline to the 200 meter depth contour out into the water and from the shoreline inland to the first major line of communication. The navys current acquisition approach for its new frigatea ship based on a littoral combat ship lcs design with minor modificationsrequires congress. Winter, with odd numbers being used for freedomclass littoral combat ships. The americans seem to be particularly confused in this regard. Littoral warfare is the nature of war at sea today, and for the foreseeable future its not something new lots of history its asymmetric in nature guerilla warfare the environment is much more dif. This is a blend of traditional and non state conflict. The difficult logic of littoral warfare prompted rear admiral yedidia yaari of the israel navy to write twenty years ago, i argue that when warships designed for the high seas enter the confined waters of the littoral arena, the fundamental relationships of maneuverability and firepower are upset, and the surface ships now in commission were designed with the open ocean and distant. Matataua means eyes of the warrior, a fitting name for a unit of divers, hydrographers and surveyors, who go before the main force to find dangers that lie ahead. Marines must prepare to fight to get to the fight in highend littoral warfare. This is because the reduction of the functions of warfare in a pure sense. But whatever you call them, they cannot make us more optimistic than in the past. This system is a 1lb quadcopter outfitted with an ultrasensitive magnetometer sensor system to detect mines and provide realtime search data to a handheld android device.
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