Crack IDs in Independence LCS

The Navy’s littoral combat ship (LCS) fleet is suffering from hull cracks that are limiting speed and wave-height operational limits, according to internal records obtained by Navy Times and confirmed by Navy officials. The Navy had not previously disclosed cracks in the Independence-class version of the LCS, class-wide repercussions of the defects, or identified those ships. The documents warn that cracks can grow if the ships transits faster than 15 knots in seas with maximum wave heights of 8.2 feet. The revelations come as the Navy continues to grapple with a transmission issue in the Freedom-class variant built in Wisconsin. The Navy is seeking to decommission all Freedom LCS. Naval Sea Systems Command spokesman Alan Baribeau said Navy first identified cracks in higher-stress areas of the structure” in 2019 with USS Coronado (LCS 4) - commissioned in 2014. Such cracks have now been identified on six of those variants, he says, nearly half of the 13-ship fleet. Baribeau said the issue “does not pose a risk” to the crew.” Bow structure analysis and combined vertical and lateral loads, did not identify hot spots below the waterline, he said. Independence shipbuilder, Austal USA, has incorporated a “revised configuration” to hulls still under construction” while the Navy will be fixing affected in-service ships, according to Baribeau. Modification consists of replacing deck plate and shell plate with thicker material. Baribeau said “crack size and visibility do not impede the ability of Independence-class ships from meeting operational requirements.” Documents show USS Omaha, commissioned in 2018, is one of the ships suffering cracks. “(A)ll Independence variant ships have been inspected and are able to meet their operational requirements,” the spokesperson continued. The other Independence-class ships include the pre-commissioned LCS 30, 32 and 34, in addition to the active duty LCS-2 to LCS-26. LCS-2 was decommissioned in 2021. Navy will incur some cost in replacing Freedom-variant LCS combining gear although it insists the flawed combining gear is a "latent defect" in Lockheed Martin's design. (Source: Navy Times The littoral combat ship’s latest problem: Class-wide structural defects leading to hull cracks (navytimes.com)