Unmissile Frigates vs Unmanned LCS

Mayport frigates may get reprieve

Most of the cost would be due to personnel since the frigates need nearly 200 sailors, whereas new littoral combat ships need about 40 sailors each.

USS Freedom does indeed have a "core crew" of 40, but it needs a mission crew to do anything other than just sail around. The main way that a LCS resembles these Frigates (sans the big missiles they were built to carry), is that they both operate helicopters and the crew required to maintain and operate those helicopters are not included in the 40 "core crew".

USS Freedom is built to house 75 total crew, but on its first deployment required a mini-trailer park setup in the cargo bay to bunk another 20 crew just to perform missions well short of full scale combat.

That's still half the crew to operate the same two helicopters, but not a fifth the crew.

-HJC