Navy Ship (LCS) Can’t Meet Mission, Internal U.S. Report Finds

[krispos42]

2. I read a book called "Sea Fighter", by James H. Cobb...

It was about littoral warfare by the Navy against a dictator on Africa's West Coast.

The vessel used was an armed and armored air cushion vehicle, a souped-up version of the LCAC. It was armed with tried-and-true weapons, could make turns for 65 knots, and could go on anything flat, including the shallows and the beach.

If memory served, it was armed with manually-driven .50-cal machine guns and Mk 19 grenade launchers, two twin-arm launchers that could accept either laser-guided Hellfire missiles or 2¾" rocket launchers from rotary magazines, and you could put 2 or 4 Harpoon launchers in the cargo area. Or a mission-extending fuel bladder. Or a squad of Marines with a Zodiac.

Seems to me that a few of these operating from an existing amphibious-assault ship would as effective and a lot cheaper than building a littoral combat ship.