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The U.S. Navy rushed through with the development, building and deployment of its first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), which is meant to anchor its coastal surface fleet plans through rest of the century and then sought to hide the problems with the ship and program, putting the lives of the crew in jeopardy. To report on the failures of the ship and program, Aviation Week crisscrossed the country -- even agreeing to an unsanctioned tour of the vessel and publication of the observations in spite of the threat of imprisonment. Besides threatening Aviation Week, the Navy at first also denied the allegations. After subsequent follow-ups on continuing ship and program problems, though, Navy officials not only acknowledged the veracity of the reports and detailed plans to fix the problems, but also invited the publication for an official tour of the ship during special trials to observe the improvements that likely will save sailor's lives.