This I Like!

The Navy is doing something right with its Littoral Combat Ship. Unlike the destroyers and submarines of the last Century, the LCS is being especially designed to combat terrorists in coastal waters:

Unlike the big iron ships of the past, the new ships are smaller, faster and more versatile.
They also are less expensive and require 40 people to operate, instead of the 450 needed on a deep-water battleship.
The Navy expects to buy 60 to 100 of these ships at $230 million each from Lockheed and General Dynamics Corp.

Lockheed has built a virtual demonstrator thats like a fighter cockpit:

Sitting at a three-screen console, Joe Zertuche, a Navy veteran of the Gulf War and Kosovo, demonstrated how easy it is to unleash a missile at a hostile target, or fire a Bofors gun from the deck of a littoral combat ship, all from his swivel chair at mission control.
"Sailing close to shore definitely puts us in harm's way. But I'm confident Lockheed has created the latest and greatest sensors to ensure we come home every time," said Zertuche, a Texas native who will be the tactical action officer on Lockheed's first ship.