WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th March, 2022) The Biden administration has approved scrapping 24 US Navy ships in the coming fiscal year budget including nine of the controversial Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) to save $3.6 billion while ordering the construction of nine new vessels for a total cost of $40.8 billion, Pentagon officials said.
"As part of its Fiscal Year 2023 budget request, the Navy plans to decommission 9 Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ships, five Ticonderoga-class cruisers, two Los Angeles-class submarines, four Landing Dock Ships, two oilers and two Expeditionary Transfer Docks," the semi-official USNI (US Naval Institute) news reported on Monday.
The LCS ships could be scrapped in part because their anti-submarine warfare (ASW) mission was being taken over by the Constellation-class frigates, Navy Deputy Assistant Secretary for Budget Rear Admiral John Gumbleton told reporters at a Pentagon press conference. However, the first Constellation-class frigate is not scheduled to be delivered to the Navy until 2026 and is not expected to become fully operational until 2030, USNI News noted.
Acting Under Secretary of the Navy Meredith Berger told the press conference that scrapping the nine LCS vessels would also remove the burden of their "really costly repairs and maintenance."
The Navy will also be spending $40.8 billion on 2 new DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class destroyers costing $5.6 billion, one frigate costing $1.3 billion and two Virginia class nuclear attack submarines costing $7.3 billion, Gumbleton said.
