{"id":63431,"date":"2023-01-10T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-10T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2023\/01\/10\/navy-considers-non-lcs-option-for-mine-countermeasures-in-5th-fleet\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:45:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:45:00","slug":"navy-considers-non-lcs-option-for-mine-countermeasures-in-5th-fleet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2023\/01\/10\/navy-considers-non-lcs-option-for-mine-countermeasures-in-5th-fleet\/","title":{"rendered":"Navy considers non-LCS option for mine countermeasures in 5th Fleet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Navy is considering alternatives to deploying littoral combat ships to the Middle East for a mandatory mine countermeasures mission, hoping to instead maintain LCS deployments to the Western Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Navy is required by law to replace the four aging Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships stationed at the U.S. 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain. The plan, according to Commander of Naval Surface Forces Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener, is to deploy Independence-class LCSs from San Diego with the mine countermeasures mission package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That, however, would tie up a number of LCSs at a time when fleet commanders are seeing success using the LCSs for surface warfare missions throughout the Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Navy has a dozen Independence-variant LCSs in San Diego. The Navy has endeavored to keep three of these LCSs forward in the Western Pacific at any given time, Kitchener told reporters in a call ahead of this week\u2019s Surface Navy Association annual conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now his team is weighing other options for the MCM mission in 5th Fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOne is to forward-deploy ships out there,\u201d he said, which requires fewer hulls than a traditional rotational deployment to and from the West Coast. \u201cWe\u2019re looking at what would it take to actually leave those ships out there, kind of like we have the Avengers out there now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kitchener said the Navy\u2019s explosive ordnance disposal community deploys expeditionary MCM companies, which can now employ a \u201cvery robust\u201d capability from the shore or from vessels of opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re trying to leverage that as much as we can and see how that fits into the mix,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s several different things going on, but right now I think the plan of record as it stands would be an Independence-variant MCM capability out there \u2014 but &#8230; we are working on several other options to see how we can fill that, and I personally think the answer is going to be something that is forward-deployed to Bahrain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Successful WESTPAC deployments<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Navy\u2019s reluctance to lose Independence LCSs to the Middle East is based on the ships\u2019 recent successes in the Western Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kitchener and other leaders have repeatedly said the ships are proving their worth there. Though homeported in San Diego, the ships deploy for 18 months or more at a time, operating out of Singapore and swapping crews periodically during the deployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">LCS Jackson, for example, deployed in July 2021 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/10\/21\/lcs-jackson-wraps-up-first-deployment-with-decommissioning-on-horizon\/\" target=\"_blank\">returned home in October 2022<\/a> after conducting counter-trafficking and counter-illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing missions, among others, throughout the South China Sea and Oceania. The ship visited ports inaccessible to larger U.S. Navy ships and was the first to deploy with the MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kitchener said the Navy will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/naval\/2022\/01\/11\/wanted-new-missions-for-the-littoral-combat-ship\/\">continue to experiment with new capabilities<\/a> for the ships\u2019 surface warfare mission package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5472\" height=\"3648\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7310443.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-117179\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7310443.jpg.jpg 5472w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7310443.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7310443.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7310443.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7310443.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7310443.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5472px) 100vw, 5472px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sailors piloting a rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) approach littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS 11) while pierside at Naval Support Activity Bahrain on July 7, 2022. (MC3 Nicholas Russell\/US Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Using San Diego-based LCSs to conduct the mine countermeasures mission in Bahrain would consume the greatest number of LCS hulls. It typically takes three ships to keep one forward continuously \u2014 while one is operating, another is training and a third is in maintenance. Trying to keep one LCS constantly operating out of Bahrain, then, would take up a quarter of the current LCS fleet in San Diego; trying to replace the four Avenger-class MCMs with multiple LCSs would challenge the ability to also keep three deployed to the Western Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kitchener\u2019s idea to forward-station the LCSs in Bahrain would mean the ships back in San Diego could focus solely on surface warfare in the Pacific. Relying on the land-based ExMCM companies would reduce or eliminate pressure on the LCS community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A shakeup in the LCS program<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A year or two ago, the Freedom-variant ships out of Florida were expected to do some or all of the mine countermeasures mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But in early 2022, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/naval\/2022\/03\/28\/us-navy-wants-to-cut-nine-lcss-eliminate-their-anti-submarine-mission\/\">Navy nixed a third mission package<\/a>, an anti-submarine warfare mission package, and proposed decommissioning the bulk of the Freedom LCSs. As part of this decision, the Navy determined any remaining LCSs in Mayport would focus on surface warfare, and the MCM mission would be consolidated to San Diego.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Congress is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/naval\/2022\/06\/24\/the-congressional-fight-to-scrap-littoral-combat-ships-isnt-over\/\">not allowing all nine LCS decommissionings the Navy requested<\/a>, but appears poised to let the Navy decommission four LCSs in Mayport. The remaining ships there will conduct surface warfare missions in Central and South America, in Europe and in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Commander of Naval Surface Force Atlantic Rear Adm. Brendan McLane told reporters during the same media roundtable he\u2019d deploy three LCSs from Mayport this year, including two to Latin America and one to 5th Fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though the ships will use the surface warfare mission package, McLane said there\u2019s potential to expand the mission in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The LCS Sioux City, which conducted the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/10\/05\/this-lcs-just-completed-an-historic-deployment\/\" target=\"_blank\">first-ever LCS deployment to Bahrain<\/a> in 2022, experimented with an ExMCM detachment there, McLane said. In this way, the LCS is supporting mine countermeasures even while not directly conducting the mission with its own gear. McLane said future deployments could make this pairing again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, McLane said, the LCS may be able to play a \u201csupporting role\u201d for Task Force 59, which oversees a fleet of unmanned surface and aerial systems in the Middle East<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Navy is considering forward-deploying LCSs to Bahrain or relying on expeditionary mine countermeasures companies to conduct some of the 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By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Navy considers non-LCS option for mine countermeasures in 5th Fleet - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Navy is considering forward-deploying LCSs to Bahrain or relying on expeditionary mine countermeasures companies to conduct some of the mission.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Navy considers non-LCS option for mine countermeasures in 5th Fleet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Navy is considering forward-deploying LCSs to Bahrain or relying on expeditionary mine countermeasures companies to conduct some of the mission.\" 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