{"id":28854,"date":"2021-04-29T19:18:19","date_gmt":"2021-04-29T19:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/04\/29\/despite-littoral-combat-ships-myriad-issues-the-cno-is-bullish-on-their-future\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:29:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:29:11","slug":"despite-littoral-combat-ships-myriad-issues-the-cno-is-bullish-on-their-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2021\/04\/29\/despite-littoral-combat-ships-myriad-issues-the-cno-is-bullish-on-their-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite littoral combat ship\u2019s myriad issues, the CNO is \u2018bullish\u2019 on their future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday and acting Navy Secretary Thomas Harker praised the perennially problematic littoral combat ship during congressional testimony Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very bullish on LCS and where we\u2019re headed,\u201d Gilday said of the vessels, which have overrun budgets and failed to perform their promised missions for nearly 20 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gilday praised the work of the ships in recent missions in the west Pacific and in U.S. Southern Command, where a ship is now helping out with counter-narcotics missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also said the LCS fleet will be getting beefed up in the next 18 months, as 31 of the ships will be outfitted with missile systems, while 15 will receive an anti-submarine capability and another approximately 15 ships will receive an anti-mine capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, Gilday called issues with the combining gear of the Freedom-class variants, which has forced the sea service to halt further acceptance of new ships, a \u201cbig problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t