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The U.S. Navy vs The Killer Tomato?

Posted by Elle Toussi in Explorer on February 8, 2013
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Photograph by National Geographic Channels
Photograph by National Geographic Channels
Naval gunnery target balloons are prepared to be dropped at sea for target practice on the USS Freedom. The "killer tomato" balloons are used to finish off the target with the ship's 50-caliber machine guns.

Watch out world, the U.S. Navy has developed a versatile new class of warships: the LCS (Littoral Combat Ship). These fast and agile combat ships are designed to take deadly threats emerging on the world stage and blow them out of the water. Their target? The Killer Tomato. No Joke. These giant red target balloons are the Navy’s preferred test-fire target for the LCS, part of the crucial exercises aimed at integrating this new ship into the fleet.

Did you know that the cutting edge design for the LCS uses aluminum in the hull to lighten the weight of the ship, allowing it to operate in shallow waters? Combine that with their gas turbine engines for speed and you are looking at a force to be reckoned with.

Tune in to Explorer: 21st Century Warships Sunday at 6P and see if the U.S. Navy will conquer the killer tomato and complete all their tests in time.

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Comments

  1. Behtash
    Long Beach
    February 8, 1:11 pm

    This is so hilarious. Very cool..

  2. Bronco46
    Petoskey, Michigan - USA
    February 11, 9:05 pm

    Not very impressed with the Captain of the USS Freedom; his naval vocabulary and bearing is not what I would have expected. Capt. Pat Thien could take some lessons in the bearing of the Captain of ship. The captain is not supposed to be one of the boys; watching him was like watching a high school senior or college freshman. His vocabulary doesn’t allow him to command attention and respect.
    Captain Olin is the kind of officer that commands respect without having to verbally beat people up. Captain Olin’s picture would be next to the definition of ships captain; while Capt. Thien bearing and command methods are more reminiscent of start up internet company. His command behavior is to try to be one of the boys. A captain needs to be above that.
    It was also surprising to see how many problems they were having with the 30mm gun mounts. Those mounts didn’t seem to have enough testing before they were deployed aboard ship. I know these are shake down cruises, and unforeseen things are expected; but the kinds of problems they were having were very basic issues that could have been avoided with enough ashore testing. Those guns, and guidance systems are radically new, and should have been better testing.