I would hope the OCV was never intended to be an up armed OPV, in fact the impression I got at the time the OCV was postulated, was it would basically be a slower, more sensible, less compromised LCS.
Drop the structural and propulsion compromises of the 40kt speed the LCS was intended to have, and you basically have a sloop. This is a type of ship the US has never really had or done well, but formed a critical element of the RN and RAN, in war and peace for decades.
The thing is, sloops are still warships, they were built in naval yards to naval standards for shock and survivability. They in many cases had the same systems (including armament, less torpedos) as destryors, but were longer ranged and also did mine sweeping.
They were more versatile than corvettes, frigates and Destroyer Escorts (DEs as the US refered to their frigate equivalents), which were often built in commercial yards, with high degrees of prefabrication elsewhere. Frigates and DEs tended to be single role vessels, specialising in one mission over others, with different variants, while sloops did it all.
Basically sloops were versatile, general purpose warships that could do almost everything a destroyer could, as well as some things they couldn't, and somethings better, i.e. ASW. They could even, due to their range, backfill some cruiser roles.
If you weren't planning massed torpedo attacks, sloops were a better option for a navy like the RAN. A general purpose back up for the heavy and light cruisers.
This is not by any means an OPV, which if you look at it, was a reluctant acknowledgement that the Armidale class PBs were not fit for purpose. OPVs, even with weapons tacked on, are not warships. They are the naval equivalent of mounting weapons on a Hilux and calling it a tank.
Drop the structural and propulsion compromises of the 40kt speed the LCS was intended to have, and you basically have a sloop. This is a type of ship the US has never really had or done well, but formed a critical element of the RN and RAN, in war and peace for decades.
The thing is, sloops are still warships, they were built in naval yards to naval standards for shock and survivability. They in many cases had the same systems (including armament, less torpedos) as destryors, but were longer ranged and also did mine sweeping.
They were more versatile than corvettes, frigates and Destroyer Escorts (DEs as the US refered to their frigate equivalents), which were often built in commercial yards, with high degrees of prefabrication elsewhere. Frigates and DEs tended to be single role vessels, specialising in one mission over others, with different variants, while sloops did it all.
Basically sloops were versatile, general purpose warships that could do almost everything a destroyer could, as well as some things they couldn't, and somethings better, i.e. ASW. They could even, due to their range, backfill some cruiser roles.
If you weren't planning massed torpedo attacks, sloops were a better option for a navy like the RAN. A general purpose back up for the heavy and light cruisers.
This is not by any means an OPV, which if you look at it, was a reluctant acknowledgement that the Armidale class PBs were not fit for purpose. OPVs, even with weapons tacked on, are not warships. They are the naval equivalent of mounting weapons on a Hilux and calling it a tank.
