Download or read book Navy Littoral Combat Ship LCS Program written by Ronald O'Rourke and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2011-05 with total page 65 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The LCS is a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular ¿plug-and-fight¿ mission packages. The basic version of the LCS, without any mission packages, is referred to as the LCS sea frame. The Navy wants to field a force of 55 LCSs. Contents of this report: (1) Intro.; (2) Background: The LCS in General; Two Industry Teams, Each with Its Own Design; Planned Procurement Quantities; (3) Issues for Congress: New Acquisition Strategy Announced in 9/09; Unit Procurement Cost Cap; Total Program Acquisition Cost; (4) Legislative Activity for FY 2011. Appendices: Cost Growth on LCS Sea Frames; LCS Acquisition Strategy Announced in 9/09. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand publication.

Download or read book Navy Littoral Combat Ship Lcs Program written by Ronald O'Rourke and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2014-10-31 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A total of 20 Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs) have been funded through FY2014. The Navy had been planning to procure an eventual total of 52 LCSs, but on February 24, 2014, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced that "no new contract negotiations beyond 32 ships will go forward" and that the Navy is to submit "alternative proposals to procure a capable and lethal small surface combatant, generally consistent with the capabilities of a frigate. I've directed the Navy to consider a completely new design, existing ship designs, and a modified LCS."

Download or read book Littoral Combat Ships written by Brien Alkire and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2007 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alkire et al. provide a clear understanding of the operational, logistics, and cost trade-offs between three interdependent elements of the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program: the number of LCSs in the fleet, the number of mission packages that those LCSs would require in order to perform a range of missions, and the number and locations of LCS homeports and mission package installation sites.

Download or read book Navy Littoral Combat Ship LCS Program written by Ronald O'Rourke and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Navy is procuring a new type of surface combatant called the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The LCS is a small, fast, relatively inexpensive combat ship that is to be equipped with modular "plug-and-fight" mission packages. The basic version of the LCS, without any mission packages, is referred to the LCS sea frame. The Navy wants to procure a total of 55 LCSs.

Download or read book Navy Littoral Combat Ship LCS Program Background Oversight Issues and Options for Congress written by and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is a small, fast ship that uses modular plug-and-fight mission packages, including unmanned vehicles (UVs). The basic version of the LCS, without any mission packages, is referred to as the LCS sea frame. The first LCS was procured in FY2005, another three were procured in FY2006, and two more were procured in FY2007. The Navy's proposed FY2008 budget, submitted to Congress in February 2007, requested $910.5 million in procurement funding for three more LCSs. Navy plans call for procuring a total of 55 LCSs. In response to significant cost growth in the building of the first LCSs, the Navy in March 2007 announced a proposed plan for restructuring the LCS program. On April 12, 2007, the Navy announced that the Navy and Lockheed could not reach an agreement on a restructured contract for LCS-1 and LCS-3 and that the Navy consequently was terminating construction of LCS-3. On May 10, 2007, it was reported that the Navy would ask Congress to increase the procurement cost cap for the fifth and sixth LCSs to $460 million each in FY2008 dollars. A primary issue for Congress at this point is whether to approve, reject, or modify the Navy's proposed restructuring plan, and what additional actions, if any, should be taken in response to the Navy's decision to terminate construction of LCS-3. Congress has several potential options regarding the LCS program. This report will be updated as events warrant.

Download or read book Navy Littoral Combat Ship Lcs Program written by Congressional Research Congressional Research Service and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2014-12-24 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Navy had been planning to procure an eventual total of 52 LCSs, but on February 24, 2014, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced that "no new contract negotiations beyond 32 ships will go forward" and that the Navy is to submit "alternative proposals to procure a capable and lethal small surface combatant, generally consistent with the capabilities of a frigate. I've directed the Navy to consider a completely new design, existing ship designs, and a modified LCS." Following Hagel's February 24, 2014, announcement, the Navy began an internal study of options for small surface combatants (SSCs) to be procured following the 32 LCSs. The Navy states that study was completed on July 31, 2014, as required. On December 10, 2014, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, after reviewing the Navy's work, approved a Navy plan to procure an SSC based on an upgraded version of the two LCS designs. The upgrade includes additional equipment for air defense, surface warfare, and antisubmarine warfare, plus some other changes. The Navy estimates that the changes will increase the cost of each LCS by $60 million to $75 million. The Navy states that it is now starting to develop an acquisition strategy for procuring the 20 modified LCSs. LCSs have been procured since FY2010 under a pair of 10-ship, fixed-price incentive (FPI) block buy contracts that the Navy awarded to the two LCS builders-Lockheed and Austal USA-on December 29, 2010. Under these contracts, which cover the years FY2010-FY2015, four LCSs (numbers 21 through 24) were to be requested for procurement in FY2015. The Navy's proposed FY2015 budget, however, requests funding for the procurement of three rather than four LCSs. Hagel's February 24 announcement and the Navy's request for three rather than four LCSs in FY2015 raise several potential oversight issues for Congress, including the Navy's plan for determining which of the two LCS builders would receive one LCS in FY2015 rather than two, and the analytical basis for the actions affecting the LCS program announced by Hagel on February 24. The LCS program has been controversial due to past cost growth, design and construction issues with the lead ships built to each design, concerns over the ships' survivability (i.e., ability to withstand battle damage), and concerns over whether the ships are sufficiently armed and would be able to perform their stated missions effectively. Prior to Secretary Hagel's February 24, 2014, announcement, some observers, citing one or more of these issues, had proposed truncating the LCS program. In response to criticisms of the LCS program, the Navy has acknowledged certain problems and stated that it was taking action to correct them, and disputed other arguments made against the program.

Download or read book Navy Littoral Combat Ship LCS Program written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 47 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Navy is procuring a new type of surface combatant called the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The Navy substantially restructured the LCS program in 2007 in response to significant cost growth and schedule delays in the program. The Navy's proposed FY2009 budget requests $920 million in procurement funding for the procurement of two LCSs, which would be the fourth and fifth ships in the restructured LCS program. The LCS is a small, fast, relatively inexpensive combat ship that is to be equipped with modular "plug-and-fight" mission packages, including unmanned vehicles (UVs). The basic version of the LCS, without any mission packages, is referred to as the LCS sea frame. The Navy wants to procure a total of 55 LCSs. Congress originally funded a total of six LCS sea frames (LCSs 1 through 6) in the FY2005, FY2006, and FY2007 defense budgets. In 2007, as Congress was considering the proposed FY2008 defense budget, the Navy canceled LCSs 3 though 6 as part of its restructuring of the program, leaving only LCSs 1 and 2 under construction. As part of its final action on the FY2008 defense budget, Congress did the following: accepted the Navy's cancellation of LCSs 3 through 6; funded the procurement one additional LCS in FY2008 (LCS-5); significantly reduced the Navy's FY2008 funding request for the LCS program; amended the LCS sea frame unit procurement cost cap; required the Navy to use fixed-price-type contracts for the construction of LCSs procured in FY2008 and subsequent years; criticized the execution of the LCS program; expressed concerns for the program; and expressed support for continuing with the program in restructured form. The issue for Congress for FY2009 is whether to approve, reject, or modify the Navy's restructured LCS program. The LCS program raises potential oversight issues for Congress relating to cost growth, total program acquisition cost, procurement cost cap, technical risk, and operational evaluation and competition for production.

Download or read book The Navy Littoral Combat Ship Program written by Elisabet A. Jenkins and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular 'plug and fight' mission packages. This book examines the LCS program and the potential oversight issues for Congress.

Download or read book Navy Littoral Combat Ship Lcs Frigate Program written by Congressional Research Service and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-02-09 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)/Frigate program is a program to procure 52 LCSs and frigates. The first LCS was funded in FY2005, and a total of 23 have been funded through FY2015. The Navy's proposed FY2016 budget requests $1,437.0 million for the procurement of three more LCSs, or an average of $479.0 million each. From 2001 to 2014, the program was known simply as the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program, and all 52 planned ships were referred to as LCSs. In 2014, at the direction of Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, the program was restructured. As a result of the restructuring, the Navy now wants to build the final 20 ships in the program (ships 33 through 52) to a revised version of the baseline LCS design. The Navy intends to refer to these 20 ships, which the Navy wants to procure in FY2019 and subsequent fiscal years, as frigates rather than LCSs. The Navy has indicated that it may also want to build ships 25 through 32 with at least some of the design changes now intended for the final 20 ships. The Navy wants to procure ships 25 through 32 in FY2016-FY2018. Two very different baseline LCS designs are being built. One was developed by an industry team led by Lockheed; the other was developed by an industry team that was led by General Dynamics. The Lockheed design is built at the Marinette Marine shipyard at Marinette, WI; the General Dynamics design is built at the Austal USA shipyard at Mobile, AL. Ships 5 through 24 in the program are being procured under a pair of 10-ship block buy contracts that were awarded to the two LCS builders in December 2010. The 24th LCS—the first of the three LCSs expected to be requested for procurement in FY2016—is the final ship to be procured under these block buy contracts. The LCS program has been controversial due to past cost growth, design and construction issues with the lead ships built to each design, concerns over the ships' survivability (i.e., ability to withstand battle damage), concerns over whether the ships are sufficiently armed and would be able to perform their stated missions effectively, and concerns over the development and testing of the ships' modular mission packages. The Navy's execution of the program has been a matter of congressional oversight attention for several years. The program's restructuring in 2014 raises additional oversight issues for Congress.

Download or read book Navy Littoral Combat Ship Lcs Program written by Congressional Service and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-07-19 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is a relatively inexpensive surface combatant equipped with modular mission packages. Navy plans call for procuring a total of 32 LCSs. The first LCS was procured in FY2005, and the Navy's proposed FY2018 budget requested the procurement of the 30th and 31st LCSs. As part of its action on the Navy's proposed FY2018 budget, Congress procured three LCSs-one more than the two that were requested. Thus, a total of 32 LCSs have been procured through FY2018. The Navy's proposed FY2019 budget, which was submitted to Congress before Congress finalized action on the Navy's FY2018 budget, requests $646.2 million for the procurement of one LCS. If Congress had procured two LCSs in FY2018, as requested by the Navy, the LCS requested for procurement in FY2019 would have been the 32nd LCS. With the procurement of three LCSs in FY2018, the LCS requested for procurement in FY2019 would be the 33rd LCS. The Navy's plan for achieving and maintaining a 355-ship fleet includes a goal for achieving and maintaining a force of 52 small surface combatants (SSCs). The Navy's plan for achieving that goal is to procure 32 LCSs, and then procure 20 new frigates, called FFG(X)s, with the first FFG(X) to be procured in FY2020. Multiple industry teams are now competing for the FFG(X) program. The design of the FFG(X) is to be based on either an LCS design or a different existing hull design. The FFG(X) program is covered in another CRS report. The LCS program includes two very different LCS designs. One was developed by an industry team led by Lockheed; the other was developed by an industry team that was then led by General Dynamics. LCS procurement has been divided evenly between the two designs. The design developed by the Lockheed-led team is built at the Marinette Marine shipyard at Marinette, WI, with Lockheed as the prime contractor; the design developed by the team that was led by General Dynamics is built at the Austal USA shipyard at Mobile, AL, with Austal USA as the prime contractor. The LCS program has been controversial over the years due to past cost growth, design and construction issues with the first LCSs, concerns over the survivability of LCSs (i.e., their ability to withstand battle damage), concerns over whether LCSs are sufficiently armed and would be able to perform their stated missions effectively, and concerns over the development and testing of the modular mission packages for LCSs. The Navy's execution of the program has been a matter of congressional oversight attention for several years. Issues for Congress for the LCS program for FY2019 include the following: the number of LCSs to procure in FY2019; the Navy's proposal to procure a final LCS in FY2019 and then shift to procurement of FFG(X)s starting in FY2020; and survivability, lethality, technical risk, and test and evaluation issues relating to LCSs and their mission packages.

Download or read book Navy Littoral Combat Ship LCS written by and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular "plug-and-fight" mission packages. The basic version of the LCS, without any mission packages, is referred to as the LCS sea frame. The Navy wants to field a force of 55 LCSs. The first two (LCS-1 and LCS-2) were procured in FY2005 and FY2006 and were commissioned into service on November 8, 2008, and January 16, 2010. Another two (LCS-3 and LCS-4) were procured in FY2009 and are under construction. Two more (LCS-5 and LCS-6) were procured in FY2010. The Navy's FY2011-FY2015 shipbuilding plan calls for procuring 17 more LCSs in annual quantities of 2, 3, 4, 4, and 4. The Navy's proposed FY2011 budget requests $1,231.0 million in procurement funding for the two LCSs that the Navy wants to procure in FY2011, and $278.4 million in FY2011 advance procurement funding for the 11 LCSs that the Navy wants to procure in FY2012-FY2014. The Navy's proposed FY2011 budget also requests procurement funding to procure LCS module weapons and LCS mission packages, and research and development funding for the LCS program. There are currently two very different LCS designs--one developed and produced by an industry team led by Lockheed, and another developed and produced by an industry team led by General Dynamics. LCS-1 and LCS-3 use the Lockheed design; LCS-2 and LCS-4 use the General Dynamics design. On September 16, 2009, the Navy announced a proposed new LCS acquisition strategy. Under the strategy, the Navy would hold a competition to pick a single design to which all LCSs procured in FY2010 and subsequent years would be built. (The process of selecting the single design for all future production is called a down select.) The winner of the down select would be awarded a contract to build 10 LCSs over the five-year period FY2010-FY2014, at a rate of two ships per year. The Navy would then hold a second competition--open to all bidders other than the shipyard building the 10 LCSs in FY2010-FY2014--to select a second shipyard to build up to five additional LCSs to the same design in FY2012-FY2014 (one ship in FY2012, and two ships per year in FY2013-FY2014). These two shipyards would then compete for contracts to build LCSs procured in FY2015 and subsequent years. Section 121(a) and (b) of the FY2010 defense authorization act (H.R. 2647/P.L. 111-84 of October 28, 2009) grant the Navy contracting and other authority needed to implement this new LCS acquisition strategy. The Navy had earlier planned to make the down select decision and award the contract to build the 10 LCSs sometime this past summer, but the decision was delayed and reportedly will now occur within 90 days of September 15--the date by which the two industry teams were told by the Navy to submit new proposal revisions. On this basis, it would appear that the decision could be announced as late as December 14. On October 12, 2010, it was reported that a Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) review meeting on the LCS program that was scheduled for October 29 has been postponed to a later date that has not been set. The Navy states that it cannot announce its down select decision and award a contract to the winner until after the DAB meeting occurs. FY2011 issues for Congress include whether to approve, reject, or modify the Navy's request for FY2011 procurement and advance procurement funding for the LCS program, and whether to provide any additional direction to the Navy regarding LCS acquisition strategy.

Download or read book Crs Report for Congress written by Congressional Research Service: The Libr and published by BiblioGov. This book was released on 2013-10 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular "plug-and-fight" mission packages. The Navy wants to field a force of 55 LCSs. The first two (LCS-1 and LCS-2) were procured in FY2005 and FY2006 and were commissioned into service on November 8, 2008, and January 16, 2010. Another two (LCS-3 and LCS-4) were procured in FY2009 and are under construction. Two more were procured in FY2010, and the Navy's proposed FY2011 budget requested funding to procure another two. Navy plans call for procuring an additional 16 in FY2012-FY2015 at a rate of four ships per year. There are two very different LCS designs--one developed and produced by an industry team led by Lockheed, and another developed and produced by an industry team led by General Dynamics. LCS-1 and LCS-3 use the Lockheed design; LCS-2 and LCS-4 use the General Dynamics design. On September 16, 2009, the Navy announced a proposed acquisition strategy under which the Navy would hold a competition to pick a single design to which all LCSs procured in FY2010 and subsequent years would be built (i.e., carry out a design "down select"). The winner of the down select would be awarded ...

Download or read book Littoral Combat Ship written by John H. Pendleton and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2010-06 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Navy plans to spend about $28 billion to buy 55 Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) and at least 64 interchangeable mission packages to perform one of three missions ¿ mine countermeasures, antisubmarine warfare, and surface warfare ¿ in waters close to shore. The Navy has been developing two different LCS seaframes and plans to select one for production in 2010. Due to the small 78-person crew size ¿ 40 core crew, 23 for aviation detachment, and typically 15 for mission packages ¿ the Navy is developing new concepts for personnel, training, and maintenance. This report assessed the extent to which DoD has: (1) estimated LCS long-term operating and support costs; and (2) developed plans to operate and support LCS. Illustrations.

Download or read book Littoral Combat Ship written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-10-05 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: GAO has reported extensively on LCS-an innovative Navy program, consisting of a ship and its mission packages. The Navy bought the first two ships using research and development funds, initially planning to experiment with them to test concepts and determine the best design. As GAO reported in July 2013, the Navy later opted to fund additional ships without having completed this planned period of discovery and learning. Further, LCS 1 and LCS 2 have experienced major cost growth and schedule delays. In August 2010, GAO reported that the ships were incomplete at delivery and in November 2013, GAO reported on significant quality problems with Navy ships, including LCS 1 and LCS 2, noting that the Navy regularly accepts ships with numerous open deficiencies. Congress mandated that GAO review the Navy's compliance with federal regulations in accepting LCS 1 and LCS 2. This report (1) assesses the extent to which the Navy complied with applicable federal regulations, policies, and contracts and (2) evaluates the basis for and outcomes from decisions to accept these ships. To conduct this work, GAO analyzed applicable federal regulations, policies, contracts, and program documentation, and spoke with relevant Department of Defense (DOD) and contractor officials.

Download or read book Navy Littoral Combat Ship LCS Program written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Navy is procuring a new class of surface combatant called the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The first LCS was procured in FY2005, another three were procured in FY2006, and two more were procured in FY2007. Current Navy plans call for procuring three LCSs in FY2008, and then about six per year in FY2009FY2016, for a planned total of 55 ships. The LCS is a small, fast surface combatant that uses modular "plug-and-fight" mission packages, including unmanned vehicles (UVs). The ship's mission orientation can be changed by changing out its mission packages. The basic version of the LCS, without any mission packages, is referred to as the LCS sea frame. The LCS's primary intended missions are countering enemy mines, submarines, and fast attack craft in littoral (near-shore) waters. Secondary missions include intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR); maritime intercept; special operations forces (SOF) support; and logistics support for movement of personnel and supplies. The LCS is also mentioned in connection with the Navy's role in what the Bush Administration refers to as the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). The LCS program raises several potential oversight issues for Congress, including the increase in reported LCS unit procurement costs, the program's total acquisition cost, the acquisition strategy for later ships in the program, and the funding of LCS mission packages. Potential options for Congress regarding the LCS program include the following: approving the program as proposed by the Navy; using a block-buy contract for LCSs procured during the five-year period FY2007-FY2011; shifting procurement of LCS mission packages to the SCN account to make these costs more visible to Congress; shifting production of some LCSs to General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (GD/BIW) or Northrop Grumman Ship Systems (NGSS) or both to provide more work for one or both of these facilities; procuring a few LCSs and then evaluating them in exercises before deciding whether to put the LCS into larger-scale series production; and terminating the LCS program and invest more in other littoralwarfare improvements. FY2007 Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 5122/P.L. 109-364). The conference report on the bill (H.Rept. 109-676 of September 25, 2006) approves the Navy's FY2007 procurement funding request for the LCS program FY2007 Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 5631/P.L. 109-289). The conference report on the bill (H.Rept. 109-676 of September 25, 2006) approves the Navy's request for $520.7 million in FY2007 procurement funding for the LCS program. The Senate report on the bill (S.Rept. 109-292 of July 25, 2006) had recommended funding the procurement of one LCS (rather than two) in FY2007, and rescinding funding for one of the three LCSs procured in FY2006. This report will be updated as events warrant.

Download or read book Navy Littoral Combat Ship LCS Background and Issues for Congress written by and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 6 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is a small, fast Navy surface combatant with modular weapon systems. The Navy wants to procure a total of 55. The first was procured in FY2005, three more were procured in FY2006, and the Navy's proposed FY2007 budget requests $521 million to procure two additional ships. The estimated procurement cost of each LCS has grown to about $260 million, an increase of about 18% over the original target cost of $220 million. Section 124 of the conference report on the FY2006 defense authorization bill (H.R. 1815) limits the cost of the two FY2007 ships to $220 million per ship. The Navy's FY2007 unfunded requirements list (URL) -- its "wish list" of items desired but not included in the FY2007 budget -- includes an additional two LCSs for an additional $520 million. LCSs are being built at three shipyards to two designs developed by two industry teams. For a longer discussion of the LCS program, see CRS Report RL32109, "Navy DD(X), CG(X), and LCS Ship Acquisition Programs: Oversight Issues and Options for Congress," by Ronald O'Rourke. This report will be updated as events warrant.

Download or read book The Littoral Combat Ship written by Undersecretary of Undersecretary of the Navy and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2014-11-20 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) has been a controversial program from its inception, experiencing delays and cost overruns, not to mention severe criticism from elements of the national security community. Despite all this, every Chief of Naval Operations since Admiral Vern Clark has supported the program. To date, Navy attempts to defend the program have not succeeded in quieting the criticism, and the various technical and operational difficulties experienced by the first two examples have not helped matters. Perhaps the most serious objection to LCS is that the Navy charged into series production without having a clear idea of how the ship would be used. Undersecretary of the Navy Robert Work is known in Defense circles as a meticulous researcher who has a comprehensive grasp of Navy force structure and fleet architecture issues, stemming from his years as an analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Secretary Work brings those same traits to bear in the preparation of this Newport Paper. In it he forthrightly chronicles the development of the LCS; not attempting to shy away from reporting on the program's vicissitudes nor trying to put a positive spin on Navy decisions along the way. Instead, he offers an informed view of how the logic behind LCS developed and evolved as the program progressed. As he so lucidly points out, LCS does not fit easily into the existing framework of Navy thought, and thus it is vulnerable to criticism by those who attempt to judge it by existing criteria. Secretary Work provides us with a better understanding of how LCS is to function in a networked battle force. While this explanation may not quiet all criticism, it at least brings much needed clarity to the story of how and why the LCS came to be. More than simply a history of the LCS program, this Newport Paper provides important insights into the dynamics of Navy programmatics and is therefore highly useful reading for anyone interested in understanding the Navy's acquisition process. In addition, and perhaps more importantly, if the reader pays attention to Secretary Work's discussion of how LCS might be used in "associated support" of a battle group, and thinks about it for a while, he or she will be rewarded with a glimpse of something that has been missing from the Navy's intellectual structure for a long time: naval operational art. Since at least the end of the Cold War, the Navy has organized its fighting capability into autonomous battle groups centered around aircraft carriers or amphibious ships. These "bubbles" of combat capability could be aggregated as they were in the three Middle East wars since 1990, but their aggregate capability was cumulative and did not propel the Navy into a qualitatively different mindset. Thus, as has been the case for most of its history, save World War II, the Navy has focused on tactics and on strategy, both of which it does rather well. The operational level, something that has been integral to Army doctrine since the 1980s, has been largely missing despite the efforts of the Naval War College to advocate its adoption. Introduction of the LCS, assuming the surface warfare community opens its mind to the full range of potential roles for smaller combatants, provides a practical basis for the development of a new naval operational art, oriented on combined arms.