Todjaeger
Potstirrer
Umm... No. Or rather, not "no," but more like, "Hell No!"
Saudi Arabia's First LCS-Based Frigate Launches at Fincantieri
The first vessel of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) new multi-mission combat ship Tuwaiq Class was this week launched into the water at the Lockh...maritime-executive.com
U.S. shipyard launches first MMSC frigate HMS Saud for Saudi Arabia in Wisconsin
Saudi Arabia’s first MMSC frigate HMS King Saud was launched in Wisconsin by Fincantieri, advancing outfitting and trials under the $11.25B Tuwaiq Project.www.armyrecognition.com
It is ready, it is cried out Made in USA, and moreover it is a Frigate. If they want 2028 USA design being launch, this is what more likely available.
Remember that this vessel is based upon the Freedom-class LCS. Had the USN really wanted more LCS vessels, rather than conventional frigates like the FFG(X) was intended to delivery, the US could have ordered them. I tend to think that often US decision makers get entirely too caught up in concepts which they believe will be revolutionary or transformational, rather than continue to have concepts evolve.
If people remember back to the early 2000's when Stryker brigades were being formed, the idea had been that smaller and lighter Stryker vehicles could be used for rapid attacks and advances and that heavy armour like the M1 Abrams were not needed, since the greater speed and mobility of the Stryker vehicles would negate the need for so much armour protection. The LCS programme itself was in some ways quite similar but the requirements rapidly caused the vessels to have to expand from perhaps large patrol boat size into frigate-sized vessels.
As I recall it, the LCS programme was to more or less deliver replacements for the USN's OHP frigates, whilst the Constellation-class frigates ordered for the FFG(X) programme were ordered to delivery capabilities that it turned out LCS could not. Going back to a design which was already determined to really not be what the USN needs... I tend to believe the USN would be better off taking the plans for the OHP and then re-do them to fit modern kit and capabilities first.