The following is the July 31, 2018 Congressional Research Service report, Navy Frigate (FFG(X)) Program: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
Tag Archives: Independence-class
Report to Congress on U.S. Navy Frigate (FFG(X)) Program
The following is the July 3, 2018 Congressional Research Service report, Navy Frigate (FFG(X)) Program: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
Navy May Reduce LCS-2 Drydocking Requirements as Drydock Shortage Looms
USS Montgomery (LCS-8) enters dry dock for Post Shakedown Availability (PSA) at BAE Systems Ship Repair facility. US Navy Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Navy may not continue to put its Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ships into the drydock every time they go into planned maintenance, as one way of dealing with a looming shortfall in drydock availability and private sector maintenance capacity. Read More
Price Hikes, Production Delays Mark Navy Shipbuilding for Past Decade
A crane moves the lower stern into place on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) at Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va. on June 22, 2017. US Navy Photo
Navy shipbuilding has been plagued for the last decade by programs running over-budget and underperforming once completed, according to a new government report, resulting in a smaller fleet than previously planned.
Littoral Combat Ship Mission Package Annual Report
The following is the February 2018 Annual Report to Congress for the Littoral Combat Ship Mission Modules Program Read More
Navy Picks Five Contenders for Next Generation Frigate FFG(X) Program
USNI News Image
Five ship designs will compete in the Navy’s bid for 20 next-generation guided-missile frigates (FFG(X)) that will follow the Littoral Combat Ship, the service announced on Friday. Read More
Document: Naval Sea Systems Command Next-Generation Frigate Briefing
The following are the Naval Sea Systems Command Jan. 9, 2017 briefing slides on the status of the Navy’s next-generation frigate competition. Read More
NAVSEA: New Navy Frigate Could Cost $950M Per Hull
The littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) conducts routine patrols in international waters of the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands as the People’s Liberation Army-Navy [PLA(N)] guided-missile frigate Yancheng (FFG 546) sails close behind, on May 11, 2015. US Navy photo.
This post has been updated to include additional information on the Littoral Combat Ship costs for Fiscal Year 2018.
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy’s new class of 20 guided-missile frigates could cost an estimated $950 million per hull, the Naval Sea Systems Command FFG(X) program manager said on Tuesday. Read More
Top Stories 2017: U.S. Navy Acquisition and Maintenance
USNI News polled its writers, naval analysts and service members on what they consider the most important military and maritime stories in 2017.
The following is part of a series. Please also see Top Stories: International Acquisition, Navy Operations, Marine Corps Operations, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Acquisition, International Operations and New Administration.
2017 began with the promise of planning for a larger fleet: at the end of 2016, the Navy announced a 355-ship requirement, and the incoming Trump Administration expressed its support for a larger military and a heftier Navy. Few concrete steps were taken this year, though, to begin a buildup – though many programs that will be pivotal to the 355-ship fleet of the future reached significant programmatic milestones in 2017.
Littoral Combat Ship, Mission Package Testing Activity At All-Time High
The littoral combat ship USS Jackson (LCS-6) sits pierside in San Diego, Calif. US Navy Photo
This article is the second in a three-part series on the changes occurring in the Littoral Combat Ship community as the fleet rapidly grows, moves to a new crewing and organizational construct and prepares for multi-ship forward operations.
SAN DIEGO — A flurry of Littoral Combat Ship activity on the San Diego waterfront belies any thought the program is in a sleepy infancy phase.
There is more LCS activity taking place now than in the history of the program. Both Austal USA and Lockheed Martin continue to churn out new ships. All three mission packages – surface warfare, mine countermeasures and anti-submarine warfare – are in development. Several ships are in maintenance, and new crews are forming and training ahead of at least three upcoming deployments. One ship, USS Coronado (LCS-4) is operating out of Singapore today. And the crews and LCS squadrons are reorganizing themselves to maximize operational readiness. Read More
