If that ambitious schedule is met, that should finally give the troubled and under-gunned vessels the long-range punch and unique mission capabilities they have conspicuously lacked.
Currently, even surface warfare variants of littoral combat ships rely on relatively small-caliber 57-millimeter guns and Hellfire missiles only capable of engaging enemies a few miles away, ie. within visual range. That’s a big shortcoming considering even much smaller corvettes and missile boats operated by China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia can carry powerful anti-ship missiles with ranges measured in the dozens or even hundreds of miles.
