Operational Employment of the Littoral Combat Ship in a new Great Power Competition

Abstract

The emergence of a peer competitor and the return to great power competition marks a significant shift in the global security environment. In this environment, the LCS is potentially positioned as the US Navy's most useful and economical warship. In order to leverage the capabilities offered by the LCS and create operational and tactical advantages, the US Navy should reconsider the operational employment of the LCS in the anti-access, area-denial (A2AD) environment. This paper examines LCS operational capabilities and ship characteristics that directly support distributed lethality operations against a peer competitor. It analyzes naval warfare theory to demonstrate the effectiveness and combat power of a small surface combatant in the A2AD environment. Finally, by applying naval warfare theory to LCS capabilities, this paper highlights and offers recommendations to the operational commander for future employment of the LCS against a peer competitor.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 15, 2020
Accession Number
AD1103988

Entities

People

  • David M. Schaller

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Defense
  • Aircrafts
  • Area Denial
  • Boats
  • Defense Systems
  • Department Of Defense
  • Destroyers
  • Employment
  • Land Attack Missiles
  • Littoral Combat Ships
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Naval Operations
  • Naval Vessels (Combatant)
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • Sea Control
  • Ships
  • United States
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare
  • Zumwalt Class

Readers

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