USS Little Rock & the Geopolitics of Asia Pacific

A Fast & Lethal Vessel Named Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)

Launch of the USS Little Rock (LCS-9)

(Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/18/politics/new-navy-ship/)

“LCS is a fast, agile, focused-mission platform designed for operation in near-shore (littoral) environments yet capable of open-ocean operation. It is designed to defeat asymmetric ‘anti access’ threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines, and fast surface craft”. So says a U.S. Navy fact file on LCS.

Just recently, LCS made news when USS Fort Worth (LCS-3) sailed in the South China Sea where the Chinese are building facilities on the Spratly Islands, a group of islands claimed by China, Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Brunei. Apparently, U.S. and Chinese interests are not completely aligned in Asia-Pacific.

 

Launched on Saturday, July 18, 2015 at Marinette Marines’ yard in Wisconsin was the USS Little Rock (LCS-9). The U.S. Navy plans on having an ambitious 304 ships by 2020. Costing around $300-$350 million, the Little Rock will be outfitted and tested before delivery to the U.S. Navy later this year. 

This is the second U.S. naval ship named after the capital city of Arkansas. The first, USS Little Rock (CL-92), is now a museum at a military park in Buffalo, N.Y. Incidentally, the present U.S. Navy Secretary, Ray Mabus served as an ensign on the old USS Little Rock. He was amongst the dignitaries present at the launch on July 18.

Geopolitical Realities

The Old USS Little Rock (CL-92)

(Source: http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/uss-little-rock-lcs-9-launched) 

By the time World War II ended, the United States had no naval competitor. England and France woke up to this new reality during the Anglo-French Sinai Campaign of 1956 when they failed to enforce their writ over a resurgent Egypt that nationalized the strategic Suez Canal to the dislike of these former colonial powers.

After major European naval powers joined the NATO, the U.S. became the top player in North Atlantic and Mediterranean. Control over the Japan’s former Pacific empire provided the U.S. with wide access to the Pacific.

Following its decision to disengage from Iraq (2011) and Afghanistan, the U.S. has steadily expanded its influence in the Asia-Pacific in order to contain China and benefit from the Asia’s rising economic and strategic clout.

This the U.S. is doing through:

·         greater engagement with multilateral institutions in the region

·         amplifying trade and investment in Asia

·         bilateral security alliances for broad-based military presence

·         promoting human rights and democracy

USS Little Rock: Technical & Other Details

LCS will have a basic crew of 50 plus a mission-dependent expert crew. The U.S. Navy will operate the LCS under the ‘3-2-1 Plan’ i.e. rotation of three crews among every two ships. The plan ensures that one of these ships is always mission-ready.

USS Freedom (LCS-1)

(Source: http://www.usslittlerock.org/LCS9/LCS9%20Facts.html)  

Capable of navigating at 45knots, the LCS are smaller than frigates and will rapidly expand the Navy’s capacity while conducting missions for establishing and maintaining maritime supremacy. Such operations include:

·         maritime law enforcement, freedom of navigation, counter-piracy, maritime domain patrols, and maritime and theater security

·         disaster relief, humanitarian assistance, and search and rescue

One of seven LCS presently under construction at Marinette Marine, the USS Little Rock is the fifth vessel of the Freedom series that includes odd-numbered LCS. Even-numbered LCS are a part of the Independence Series.

While the Freedom series come with a double-chine, advanced semi-planing steel monohull design, the Independence series LCS are fitted with slender, stabilized aluminum monohulls. The USS Little Rock will be one of eight Freedom class LCS that will be based in Mayport, Florida.

Technical Data

Feature	Performance
Displacement	3,500 metric tons
Speed	45 knots
Endurance	21 days / 336 hours
Range	3,500 nautical miles @ 18 knots
Length	115.3m
Beam	17.5m
Draft	4.0m
Complement Core Crew Mission Crew	15-50 75 (Blue & Gold Crew)
Propulsion	2 x Rolls-Royce MT30 36MW Gas Turbines 4 x Rolls-Royce Waterjets 2 x Colt-Pielstick Diesel Engines
Aircrafts	2 x MH-60R/S Seahawks MQ-8 Fire Scout
Armament	RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles NETFIRES PAM Missile in AsuW Module BAE System Mk 110 57 mm Gun Honeywell Mk 50 Torpedo 2 x 0.5caliber Guns Optional: 4 x Bushmaster 30mm Guns
Boats & Landing Craft	11m RHIB 12m High-Speed Boats

Fitted with interchangeable mission modules, the USS Little Rock:

·         can engage in a diverse missions ranging from anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare to mine countermeasures

·         has a turnaround of only 3 days

·         possesses an inbuilt capacity for growth

·         serves as a base for launching manned and unmanned aircrafts as well as unmanned underwater and surface vehicles

·         has open architecture design for equipment and sensors that are connected to a huge network in the U.S. Navy 

Finally

For much of the 20^th century, U.S. foreign policy was Europe-focused. Europe dominated global politics till 1945. Thereafter, containing communism unleashed by the erstwhile Soviet Union was the prime target. Now, the center of gravity of international economics and politics is shifting from the Atlantic to the Pacific and so is the U.S.’ gaze.

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