Pentagon admits: Navy's newest warship can't survive combat

[unhappycamper]

http://rt.com/usa/news/combat-ship-navy-freedom-163/



USS Freedom (Reuters/U.S. Navy/Lockheed-Martin)

Pentagon admits: Navy's newest warship can't survive combat
Published: 17 January, 2013, 01:49

The Navy is sending one if its newest combat ships overseas, even though the Pentagon knows the ship's guns don’t properly function and is unsure whether the ship can even survive combat.

The USS Freedom, one of the newest class of Littoral Combat Ships, has long been unable to pass inspections. The ship, which was commissioned in 2008, was designed to fight massive enemy fleets and is said to be one of the fastest ships in the Navy. The USS Freedom cost the US government $670.4 million – but the expensive vessel has failed many of its inspections.

In May 2012, the Navy inspection report disclosed that the ship had failed 14 of 28 inspection tests, including an assessment of its fire-fighting systems, communications, electrical systems and forward propulsion. But even eight months later, the ship continues to have its problems.

J. Michael Gilmore, the Defense Department’s director of operational test and evaluation, revealed his concerns in an annual study released by Congress on Tuesday. Gilmore believes the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is still “not expected to be survivable” in combat. He first expressed his concerns in 2011 when he predicted the ship would not survive “in a hostile combat environment.”

[dballance]

1. I'd Love to Hear the Pep Talk The Skipper of That Vessel Gave His Crew

upon embarking on this mission. "Well, guys, we can't necessarily defend ourselves if we're attacked. The fire-suppression systems don't work properly so you'll likely be bombed to death or burned to death for sure in the event of an attack. But take heart. The Navy is going to learn a lot from our mission."

This is insane.