April 6, 2012 – The Darth Vader of the Sea: The Navy’s newest ship is designed to battle Iranian attack boats, clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz, chase down Somali pirates and keep watch on China’s warships. The ones built here even look menacing, like Darth Vader on the sea. Pictured above, The littoral combat ship Independence during sea trials (made by General Dynamics).
“It’s going to scare the hell out of folks,” said Representative Jo Bonner, the Alabama Republican who represents Mobile and is one of the ship’s biggest boosters in Congress.
At $700 million each they are not cheap. Follow the link below for the complete story, multimedia, comments and more.
The Master of Disaster
A Smaller Navy Ship With Troubles, but President’s Backing – NYTimes.com.
Chaos Sweeps Away the World We Know! The Disaster, current events & Catastrophe Blog. Forecasts for 2014 to 2022. Read tomorrows news today! Plus current economic, commodities, stock indices and financial news. 
I would love to go for a cruise on this bad boy!
Yes, me too as I love ships. At 417 feet and cruising speed over 40 knots – this baby can really move. Spec.’s can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/04/05/us/ship-for-modern-warfare.html?ref=politics
yours,
Bill Foster
An extensive picture collection can be found here:
http://www.google.com/search?q=littoral+combat+ship&hl=en&prmd=imvnsl&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=2h6AT9LfF-Gq2QWk5-zmBg&sqi=2&ved=0CDcQsAQ&biw=1680&bih=870
yours,
Bill