This thesis addresses the feasibility of using Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) to conduct Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief (HA/DR) operations. The thesis uses systems engineering to analyze the suite of LCS mission packages that would be used in conducting HA/DR operations. The current preference for HA/DR operations is big decks, like those found on Amphibious Ships and Aircraft Carriers, to maximize the lift capability of medical supplies, food, and water. The trade-off of using big-deck ships instead of small ships such as the LCS is to forfeit speed and the ability to dock nearer to shore. Yet big-deck ships have the fuel capacity to travel long distances and the capacity to carry large loads of supplies. A functional decomposition and mission requirements assessment was performed on the LCS, Aircraft Carriers, and Amphibious ships. In comparison with the Aircraft Carrier and Amphibious ships, the LCS with its current set of mission packages seems to be slightly lacking in its ability to conduct HA/DR operations. While the LCS excels in speed, shallow draft, and having a full suite of sensors, it has limited capacity to carry cargo and personnel, limited medical support facilities onboard, and limited endurance when travelling at sprint speed. To help overcome the shortcomings of the LCS in conducting HA/DR operations, the Irregular Warfare (IW) mission package is analyzed. This mission package consists of the following modules: Personnel Berthing and Support, Cargo Capacity, Medical Support, Material Handling, Search and Rescue, and Self Defense. The assessment shows that the LCS fitted with the IW mission package shows improvements in capacity to carry cargo and personnel and medical support and is the best choice of LCS to carry out HA/DR operations.


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