US Navy’s improved littoral combat warships in Asia to be armed with radar-evading precision missiles

The improved capabilities of littoral combat warships could give the US Navy’s forces in Asia a much-needed boost amid the Chinese navy’s technological gains, analysts say

But the experts caution against overestimating the powers of the warships, which are seeing double deployments in Singapore for the first time

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The US Navy’s littoral combat ship USS Montgomery. Photo: AFP/US Navy

Published: 9:52pm, 12 Sep 2019Updated: 11:04pm, 12 Sep 2019

The US Navy’s once-beleaguered class of littoral combat ships (LCS) are back on an improved standing after major reforms, and military analysts say such warships – now to be armed with radar-evading precision missiles – could give Washington’s forward deployed forces in Asia a much-needed boost, amid rapid technological gains by China’s navy.

The LCS programme has come under the spotlight as the USS Gabrielle Giffords, the ninth warship in the class, makes its way to Singapore from San Diego for a rotational deployment in the Western Pacific, alongside sister ship USS Montgomery.

This is the first time two of the warships are being deployed simultaneously out of Singapore – home to a major US refuelling and logistics facility – since former president Barack Obama’s administration in 2012 announced it would station up to four of the warships there, as part of a wider “pivot to Asia” strategy.

US littoral combat ships – which have a shallow draft and are similar to frigates in other navies – are smaller and faster than destroyers, and were envisioned as the ideal naval vessel for deployment in Asia’s busy and disputed waters.

But since the 2012 announcement, the warships have been bogged down by multiple problems, including bloated cost, design, manning and training arrangements, and questions about the warships’ ability to survive in combat.