GAOâs report stems from a provision under the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2014 to evaluate LCS survivability.
GAO said Friday the LCS became less lethal and survivable in threat environments after the Navy lowered the shipâs design requirements and removed a number of features.
The Defense Departmentâs director of operational test and evaluation also recommended further testing on the LCS variants to confirm that they meet the requirements in threat environments.
The Navy plans to assess the LCSâ survivability and will need until 2018 to complete the tests.
The office recommends that Congress delay the funding for LCS in fiscal year 2016 until the Navy completes rough water trials report, acquisition strategy and backfit plan for the ship.