“The Whole Littoral Combat Ship Concept Has Failed”: The US Navy Planned 55, Ordered 32, Has 27 Left — and Just Retired One at 56 Percent of Its Life.

The Fort Worth is one of 14 warships that will be decommissioned or inactivated in Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26). What Are The Freedom Variants Of The Littoral Combat Ships? As a Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship, it was designed for flexibility using interchangeable “mission packages” (surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and mine countermeasures) to address specific threats. “The Whole Littoral Combat Ship Concept Has Failed”DanGrazier, the director of the Stimson Center’s National Security reform program, told Responsible Statecraft that the Littoral Combat Ship concept was a complete failure. The Navy originally had great plans for the Littoral Combat Ship, planning to buy 55 of them.