Marines eye littoral combat ship for future missions.

• Author: Jean, Grace V.
• Position: Naval Operations

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

* PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- The Marine Corps is considering new ways in which it could employ the Navy's new littoral combat ships.

"We're working on an assessment of what we can put on the LCS," the chief of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Lt. Gen. George Flynn, told a recent Expeditionary Warfare conference. "There's a potential for maybe two or three mission modules."

The shallow-draft warship that sailors will employ in mine warfare, surface warfare and antisubmarine warfare missions still is in development and testing.

Flynn, who has been aboard both lead ships--the USS Freedom (LCS-1) built by Lockheed Martin Corp. and the USS Independence (LCS-2) built by General Dynamics, told reporters that it was important for him to "see the art of the possible."

He said the Marine Corps commandant asked him to think about putting a "box of rockets" aboard the ship, which would turn it into a naval surface fire platform. "We still need to talk to the Navy a little bit more about that, but there's a possibility here. You could use that ship for some of those missions," he said.

Marines could deploy small units such as platoons or companies aboard an LCS, Flynn said.

"I have seen where you can drive on some amphibious craft on the back of at least one LCS," he said.

The increased demand for naval support in coastal areas, meanwhile, is creating a growing demand for ships that are even smaller than the LCS. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Thomas Benes, director of the Navy's expeditionary warfare division, said there is a need for boats that are larger than the riverine units' 40-foot boats but smaller than the 400-foot littoral combat ship. The Navy does not have such a vessel in its inventory.

In the Persian Gulf, U.S. warships have been targeted by suicide bombers in fishing boats and threatened by Iranian speedboats. "It's obvious you need some smaller boat to be able to patrol that area," Benes said. "We're taking that on."

A study conducted last year recommended two types of craft, said Capt. Mark Mullins, deputy director of the division's irregular warfare branch. One of the...