An MH-60R Sea Hawk prepares to land aboard the littoral combat ship Freedom (LCS 1). (U.S. Navy)
When the littoral combat ship Freedom needs scheduled maintenance overseas, the workers who step onboard had better be Americans.
U.S. law bars foreign shipyard workers from doing such tasks as preventative and corrective maintenance, deep cleaning and corrosion control — crucial work for a ship manned by only 50 or so sailors, meaning it will rely more on shore-based support than other U.S. Navy ships.
And as more LCS hulls come into service, that foreign-based support will become ever more important. The U.S. plans to base four ships in Singapore — Freedom will sail there next year — and another eight in Bahrain, starting as soon as 2014.
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