"This Ship Was Built to Flee, So You'd Better Know How."

At least one writer is celebrating the contract to award construction of Littoral Combat Ships, even though the ships are being built to commercial specifications, not military specs.

I know that some folks will point out that the Navy has not fought a red-on-blue ship-to-ship fight in 65 years. That misses the point.

A warship is built to go into harm's way, other than some exceptions like PT boats (which were made of wood and ran on high-octane aviation gasoline). The LCS seems more like a PT boat than an ocean-going warship. The LCSs will be able to go very fast over fairly short distances. They will not have the survivability nor the crew size to take damage of any consequence. So not only will an LCS not be able to take damage and keep on fighting, it may not even be able to continue to float.

This is not a concern that evaporated when Japan surrendered. The USS Stark was hit by two Exocet missiles and the USS Samuel B. Roberts hit a mine, both in the Persian Gulf, and both ships survived. USS Cole took a direct hit from 700lbs of explosives which detonated next to the hull and stayed afloat.

The LCS is a fighting ship with a glass jaw, designed to engage forces equipped with only small arms. They probably should be handed over to the Coast Guard.