Undersecretary of the U.S. The Navy could eventually have a force of eight ships operating from Bahrain if plans to base littoral combat ships (LCS) in the Persian Gulf continue as envisioned, the service’s No. 2 official has said. The Navy has long been planning to operate LCS ships in the gulf, Undersecretary Bob Work told an audience at the Cato Institute in Washington. The ships, able to perform several different missions when fitted out with specialized equipment packages, already are to replace U.S. minesweepers and patrol boats in the region. The four-ship minesweeper force operating from Bahrain will be doubled by next month when another four ships arrive from the U.S. West Coast, and a total of 10 large patrol boats are eventually to be stationed there.