{"id":22858,"date":"2021-05-20T19:51:43","date_gmt":"2021-05-20T19:51:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/05\/20\/heres-when-the-first-two-littoral-combat-ships-will-be-mothballed\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:21:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:21:33","slug":"heres-when-the-first-two-littoral-combat-ships-will-be-mothballed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2021\/05\/20\/heres-when-the-first-two-littoral-combat-ships-will-be-mothballed\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s when the first two littoral combat ships will be mothballed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Just more than a decade after they entered naval service to great fanfare as the future face of the U.S. Navy, the first two littoral combat ships will be mothballed later this year, according to the Navy\u2019s inactivation schedule<\/a> for 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first LCS, Freedom, will head into inactive reserve status Sept. 30, less than 13 years after the ship was commissioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second LCS, Independence, a separate class variant, will receive its shadow box on July 31 after just 11\u00bd years of service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LCS were billed as the future of the fleet, agile vessels that could be implemented with various mission modules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But those modules have yet to materialize, and Navy brass has said in recent years that the elder LCSs aren\u2019t worth the modernization money as the sea service faces a hefty bill for other shipbuilding and upgrading costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, problems remain on several LCS fronts.<\/p>\n\n\n\t