5 ms·

Note that modularity is one of the things they abandoned to try and get something working.

by iudqnolq 4y ago

riku_iki 4y ago
where did you get this?
- iudqnolq 4y ago
  When I went looking for my source I realized it was older than I remembered. It's certainly possible things have gotten better since 2021. > Despite that positive spin, the utility of the LCS remains hampered by its controversial mission modules, which were originally designed to be switched in and out of the hulls rapidly while in port, before the idea was abandoned, leaving each ship with a single module to be installed. As it stands, only the anti-surface warfare version of these modules is fitted on some of the hulls, with the anti-submarine warfare and mine countermeasures modules not yet available. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42582/the-first-littoral-combat-ship-has-been-decommissioned-after-just-13-years-of-service https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42582/the-first-littor...
- greedo 4y ago
  Modularity really doesn't work with ships. For the LCS, the idea was to have mission modules that can be swapped out depending on the ship's role. However, the entire idea is flawed. First, you need crew trained on these different modules, so not only would you be swapping out modules, but swapping out a large portion of the crew. Second, swapping modules sounds easy, but is a tough thing to do on a ship without affecting other design constraints. The LCS also suffered from the concept of minimal manning (which meant reliance upon contractors for a lot of support), and also lacked a decent set of weaponry.
  - toast0 4y ago
    > First, you need crew trained on these different modules, so not only would you be swapping out modules, but swapping out a large portion of the crew. Swapping out a large portion of the crew doesn't seem that uncommon? My friends in the navy get assigned deployments in a group, stay with the boat for several months and then come home and work on base for several months, etc. Often there's a significant time for the ship in port while the crew is swapped out. But, I don't get a lot of details.
sillywalk 4y ago
Interestingly there is a semi-successful modular system called StanFlex [0] that the Danish navy developed in the 80s, and now uses for all their ships. "each [StanFlex] module is housed in a stainless steel container measuring 3 metres (9.8 ft) in length, 3.5 metres (11 ft) in width, and 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) in height. ... Modules are usually installed and replaced by a 15-ton capacity mobile crane.[3] A module can be swapped out and replaced within half an hour, and after system testing completed, the ship is ready to deploy within a few hours." There are modules for Surface,Air,Submarine, and anti-mine, storage and ELINT, among others [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StanFlex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StanFlex

Note that modularity is one of the things they abandoned to try and get something working.

riku_iki 4y ago

where did you get this?

iudqnolq 4y ago
When I went looking for my source I realized it was older than I remembered. It's certainly possible things have gotten better since 2021. > Despite that positive spin, the utility of the LCS remains hampered by its controversial mission modules, which were originally designed to be switched in and out of the hulls rapidly while in port, before the idea was abandoned, leaving each ship with a single module to be installed. As it stands, only the anti-surface warfare version of these modules is fitted on some of the hulls, with the anti-submarine warfare and mine countermeasures modules not yet available. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42582/the-first-littoral-combat-ship-has-been-decommissioned-after-just-13-years-of-service https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42582/the-first-littor...
greedo 4y ago
Modularity really doesn't work with ships. For the LCS, the idea was to have mission modules that can be swapped out depending on the ship's role. However, the entire idea is flawed. First, you need crew trained on these different modules, so not only would you be swapping out modules, but swapping out a large portion of the crew. Second, swapping modules sounds easy, but is a tough thing to do on a ship without affecting other design constraints. The LCS also suffered from the concept of minimal manning (which meant reliance upon contractors for a lot of support), and also lacked a decent set of weaponry.
- toast0 4y ago
  > First, you need crew trained on these different modules, so not only would you be swapping out modules, but swapping out a large portion of the crew. Swapping out a large portion of the crew doesn't seem that uncommon? My friends in the navy get assigned deployments in a group, stay with the boat for several months and then come home and work on base for several months, etc. Often there's a significant time for the ship in port while the crew is swapped out. But, I don't get a lot of details.

sillywalk 4y ago

Interestingly there is a semi-successful modular system called StanFlex [0] that the Danish navy developed in the 80s, and now uses for all their ships. "each [StanFlex] module is housed in a stainless steel container measuring 3 metres (9.8 ft) in length, 3.5 metres (11 ft) in width, and 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) in height. ... Modules are usually installed and replaced by a 15-ton capacity mobile crane.[3] A module can be swapped out and replaced within half an hour, and after system testing completed, the ship is ready to deploy within a few hours." There are modules for Surface,Air,Submarine, and anti-mine, storage and ELINT, among others [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StanFlex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StanFlex