The need for speed
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Somali Pirates from wikimedia.org
In a throwback to the privateering days of the Spanish Main, Somalian pirates have made the world’s shipping and cruise lanes a more dangerous place. Tremendous socioeconomic disparity and a world recession have a tendency to do that. When the money system breaks down, when credit becomes so frozen that military loans and installment loans remain good options until bankrolled politicians parrot their masters’ will and ban them, human beings will result to desperate measures. There’s no flight from the world’s economy outside of Gilligan’s Island, so that leaves fight.
Predicting more hostilities to come, the United States Navy has launched the USS Freedom LC-1. Fox News reports that the new high-tech ship “can chase down pirates off the coast of Somalia faster and more aggressively than previous vessels could.” The core crew for the USS Freedom will typically be 40 sailors, but can be expanded as high as 75 depending upon the mission and aviation needs.
Specifications
The USS Freedom is the first of two Littoral combat ship (LCS) designs being produced by the Navy. The other, the USS Independence LCS-2, is a trimaran under construction by General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works and Austal USA. The USS Freedom will be fast, maneuverable and fully computer-networked. Their unprecedented adaptability should lend itself well to missions ranging from anti-mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare and humanitarian relief. It can reach speeds of up to 52 mph.
The flight deck of the USS Freedom will be large enough to move helicopters in and out of the hangar. Craft can be launched from the Freedom via a stern-side roll-on/roll-off ramp or a starboard side door by the waterline. A crane will allow personnel to move cargo of mission modules quickly.
In terms of weaponry, the fore deck utilizes a modular system upon which a either a 57 mm gun turret or missile launcher can be placed. A Rolling Airframe Missile launcher is mounted above the aircraft hangar for defense in close against aircraft and cruise missiles. Furthermore, .50-caliber gun mounts are available.
Strike fast, strike hard
Navy Commander Michael Doran is excited about this ship, which he told Fox News is “one of the fastest ships in the Navy to date” and has the power to take on “massive enemy fleets.”
“It’s more than an evolutionary step forward, it’s a revolutionary step forward,” he said. “It’s highly automated and it’s very fast. For a piracy mission, we can go out there and cover more water with fewer ships because of the sprint speed of the ship.”
The flexibility the Freedom gives Navy forces against deadly pirates will be tremendous. “We can tailor the ship to perform any counter-piracy mission.” But it is indeed the speed that jumps out at you; some Navy officials have even called the USS Freedom their “corvette.”
“It is kind of like driving a sports car around,” Doran said.
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I think the pirates ought to think twice once this baby gets over there. In fact, the first war the US fought after the revolution (and a few rebellions caused by the upper crust, who just got done with the war they started and needed to fleece poor people to pay for it) was an armed conflict with pirates on the Barbary coast, in Tripoli. So this is nothing new, and something we ought to be good at by now! In fact, if I remember correctly the crew that finally put a stop to Blackbeard was from an American port.