The only mistake made with LCS is was not splitting the classes The Freedom class should have been for the LCS while the Independence class evolved into FFG
I am glad the military took the risk and tried. We don't make great leaps forward unless we try. Failure is just a part of risk that pops up at times.
The littoral combat ship was not a mistake. It was designed for threats in littoral waters. That was the middle east where the depths were shallow and sea states were low. The threat is not there anymore. Now the threat is in wide open ocean where sea states can be much higher. That's wear and tear aluminum hulls can't endure.
Kts not easy to be on the cutting edge, developing new concepts/ships. Sometimes you go wrong. Happens in business every day too.
This is how you learn. Computer simulations, theoretical testing is fine, but unless you build the real thing, you never advance your tech base. That's exactly what this program was. How many million dollar rockets were lost trying to perfect space launches? People who don't understand that jump on the ridiculous notion we don't know how to build ships anymore. Furthest thing from reality.
The Pentagon and Congress have no problem wasting billions of dollars of American Taxpayers money. It’s not their money and it goes to their wealthy contributors which in turn benefits them and their after government careers.
Change the Class set up, It tried to do To much, new hull materials and give them to the Coast guard. Coast guard does a lot even deploying over seas. Why these were navy and not CG I don't know.