Yesterday I discussed the reasons why we need to dismantle and close down the United States Marine Corps. One of those reasons is the Light Amphibious Warship (now called the Landing Ship, Medium, LSM), a small landing ship which would ferry small Marine units among the first island chain islands, enable relocation, and conduct resupply.

All of a sudden, costs are spiraling and tripling and I would expect if history is an indicator, the costs will be even higher, the delivery will be even more delayed than anticipated and the quality will be uniformly subpar.

Yet another ship-building dumpster fire to service a hare-brained tactical and operational scheme that does not pass the smell test. The South Korean Go Jun Bong-class LST would fit the bill but the USN would demand so many changes it would balloon in cost and schedule slides.

A similar ship was purchased by the Army over two decades ago.

“Kuroda was built by V.T. Halter Marine in 2001 at a cost of $26 million, and was christened in 2003.”

The military industrial complex continues to deliver subpar products at enormous prices. What a country!

Look at the mismatch between CBO estimates and the Navy, as documented below.
 
The Congressional Budget Office projected the lead ship in the class costing anywhere from $460 to $560 million, according to an April report. If the Navy buys the 18 to 35 ships according to current plans, each hull could cost $340 to $430 million. Initial plans in 2020 called for each ship to cost $100 to $150 million.[1]

The Navy believed the ships would cost $100M-$150M versus the CBO estimate of $340M-$430M with a lead ship cost of up to $560M!
 

See the rest: https://navy-matters.blogspot.com/2024/12/marine-light-amphibious-warship-debacle.html

Buckle up and Happy New Year.

Email me at cgpodcast@pm.me