The American Congress has directed the US Navy to study the possibility of quickly designing and manufacturing a new class of corvette, or Small Combatant Ship, to overcome the delays and criticism concerning the Constellation class of frigates, faced with the withdrawal of the Ticonderoga cruisers and to the operational inefficiency of the LCS.
For American senators, it is, in fact, necessary to implement short-term solutions, to partially compensate for the withdrawal of numerous hulls planned in the years to come, leading, among other things, to a dizzying drop in the number of VLS available to the US Navy, if it were to face the Chinese Navy, or to divide its forces to intervene in several theaters simultaneously.
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The US Congress is very concerned about the consequences of the withdrawal of the last cruisers Ticonderoga and SSGN Ohio from the US Navy
In recent years, many voices in the American Congress have been raised to warn of the worrying trajectory of the US Navy's surface fleet, whether in terms of the number of hulls or VLS (Vertical Launch Systems). missiles), faced with the rise in power of the Chinese fleet, as if to respond to the multiplication of hot spots on the planet.
Indeed, by 2030, the US Navy will have to withdraw from service all of the remaining Ticonderoga cruisers, each carrying 122 silos, as well as the four Ohio-class SSGN nuclear missile submarines, with 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles each.
From 2027, it will also have to begin the withdrawal of the first twenty Arleigh Burke Flight I class destroyers, armed with 92 silos, while only around fifteen of the forty LCSs built will actually remain in service on that date, mainly for missions. of mine warfare, with the withdrawal of the Avenger-class minehunters.
Thus, for fiscal year 2025 alone, which runs from November 2024 to the end of October 2025, the US Navy plans to withdraw 19 combat ships from service, while only six new hulls will be admitted to service.
Critical reports pile up on US Navy's conduct of USS Constellation frigate program
One of the causes of this decline of the US Navy, in terms of number of ships and VLS, in particular compared to the Chinese Navy, is none other than the poor management of programs, implemented by the US Navy, for the new Constellation class frigates.
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