Last March, the Navy awarded $2.9 billion to Northrop Grumman to design a class of new ships that includes a littoral combat ship (LCS). The blessing was mixed, however—spending even a dime on an LCS design is redundant because the Navy already spent $20 million studying and designing a craft designated as the littoral support craft (experimental) [LSC(X)]. This Office of Naval Research effort began in 1997; funds to construct the craft are in place.
