While the ships themselves are currently facing the prospect of decommissioning and replacement, and many will not be sad to see them go, the program has one saving grace - it offers some important lessons about the American defense industrial base. Each of the 23 commissioned littoral combat ships cost around $500 million to build, with astronomical operating costs adding to the program’s hefty price tag. Uncharitably dubbed the “little crappy ship” by its detractors, the program has faced cost overruns, delays, mechanical failures, and questions over the platforms’ survivability in high-intensity combat. It has been plagued by problems since its conception in 2001. The littoral combat ship can answer that question. politics.ĭoes this treadmill still exist half a century later? He described the military-industrial complex (i.e., the deep interconnection of the military, politicians, and industry) as a “military-contract treadmill” that had unwarranted influence over U.S. William Proxmire in his excoriating 1970 book Report from Wasteland. The military-industrial complex “has more tentacles than an octopus,” and its “dimensions are almost infinite.” So wrote Sen.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |