Thursday, April 05, 2012
Another vampire weapons system
When the hype does not come anywhere near the reality with a high cost-low value weapons system, you know there is only one answer, throw more money at it.
For the record, these are the sips that had such severe corrosion that the first one needed major dry dock repairs in less than a year.
The Navy’s newest ship is designed to battle Iranian attack boats, clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz, chase down Somali pirates and keep watch on China’s warships. The ones built here even look menacing, like Darth Vader on the sea.So far the only ones getting the hell scared out of them have to be those unfortunate souls assigned to the ships built so far.
“It’s going to scare the hell out of folks,” said Representative Jo Bonner, the Alabama Republican who represents Mobile and is one of the ship’s biggest boosters in Congress.
One of the two $700 million ships completed so far has had a major leak and crack in its hull, while the other is at sea, testing equipment that is failing to distinguish underwater mines from glints of light on the waves. More ominously, a report late last year by the Pentagon’s top weapons tester said the ship “is not expected to be survivable in a hostile combat environment.”But a failure to execute its designed mission should not be considered a flaw but a feature. Now we can press ahead with the latest and greatest overpriced underachiever.
But for better or worse, the Pentagon and the Obama administration are embracing the Littoral Combat Ship as the future of naval warfare and just what is needed to meet 21st-century threats.Apparently we are planning on facing opponents who are as incompetent as our ship designers and builders. That should work good. In the meantime, a weapons system that should be dead will continue to suck $Millions from the Treasury.
For the record, these are the sips that had such severe corrosion that the first one needed major dry dock repairs in less than a year.
Subscribe to Comments [Atom]
Post a Comment