Taiwan is considering acquiring soon-to-be-retired littoral combat ships (LCS) from the US Navy, Deputy Defense Minister Alex Poe has said.
Poe’s statement came during the Legislative Yuan when a legislator asked whether Taiwan would buy any decommissioned ships from the US this year or stick to its stance on domestic shipbuilding.
The LCS is a class of small surface vessels developed by the US Navy for coastline operations. It has two variants: the Freedom-class and the Independence-class.
US Decommissioning Ships
The US is planning to decommission 24 ships, including nine Freedom-class littoral combat ships as a part of its latest budget proposal for fiscal 2023.
The move is expected to provide the US military with enough money to modernize its remaining fleet.
The LCS-class ships entered service in 2008 with the most recent vessel launched in the summer of 2020.
Despite the ships being newer, their development and fielding have been marred with problems.
The Freedom-class variant has had a major flaw with its combining gear and equipment that transfers power from the ship’s engines to its water jets. Similar issues have been reported in the Independence-class.
