(WASHINGTON) — Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Wednesday said the U.S. Navy would use the $8 billion saved by scaling back the littoral combat ship (LCS) program to buy more submarines, destroyers, fighter jets and unmanned underwater vehicles, Reuters reported. Carter defended his plan to cut the twin-variant LCS program to 40 ships from 52, saying the current security environment demanded more sophisticated capabilities. U.S. officials said the Navy would buy two LCS in fiscal 2017, with orders dropping to one a year in subsequent years. The Freedom and Independence variants are built by Marinette Marine and Austal USA.
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