USS Detroit (LCS-7) transits the Caribbean Sea. Detroit is deployed to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility to support Joint Interagency Task Force South’s mission. Sept. 12, 2020. US Navy Photo
Littoral Combat Ship USS Detroit (LCS-7) was towed into a Florida port after losing power on its way to port for repairs, after suffering a previous engineering casualty that took it out of an international exercise, Navy officials confirmed to USNI News on Friday. Read More
USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10) transits the Eastern Pacific Ocean on Oct. 6, 2020. US Navy Photo
KUALA LUMPUR — Littoral Combat Ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10) has completed its deployment in the Indo-Pacific region and is now assigned to the U.S Navy’s 3rd Fleet, USNI News has learned. Read More
Sailors from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 22 observe as the MQ-8C Fire Scout is delivered to the squadron on Sept. 15, 2020. HSC-22 is the first HSC squadron on the East Coast to operate all three systems. They are responsible for manning, training and equipping personnel to operate the MH-60S Knighthawk, MQ-8B Firescout and MQ-8C Firescout. US Navy photo.
The Navy is getting closer to operating the new and larger MQ-8C Fire Scout variant on its Littoral Combat Ships, with two squadrons taking possession of their first aircraft and working towards safe-for-flight certification. Read More
Gunners Mate 2nd Class Casey Nice lubricates the MK 50 Modular Weapons System aboard the Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Detroit (LCS 7) on Sept. 10, 2020. Detroit is deployed to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility to support Joint Interagency Task Force South’s mission, which includes counter illicit drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. US Navy photo.
The Navy kicked off another study of the Littoral Combat Ship that is meant to follow up on the major 2016 study that reshaped how the LCS fleet is manned, trained and operated. Read More
Sea Hunter, an entirely new class of unmanned sea surface vehicle developed in partnership between the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), completed an autonomous sail from San Diego to Hawaii. US Navy photo
As the Navy experiments with its unmanned surface vehicle prototypes, the service plans to employ the Sea Hunter Medium USV in fleet exercises in the next fiscal year, the program executive officer for unmanned and small combatants said today. Read More
The future Savannah (LCS-28) is floated down the Mobile River on Sept. 2, 2020, just days after it was christened at the Austal USA shipyard. Austal USA photo.
Austal USA is expanding the capacity and capability of its Alabama shipyard, doubling down on investing in its future in a way reminiscent of 2009, just before it won the block buy of Littoral Combat Ships that secured the yard a spot in the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base. Read More
Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener, Commander, Naval Surface Force U.S. Pacific Fleet, meets with Sailors during a tour of the Amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) on Aug. 13, 2020. Kitchener also evaluated Boxer’s current state of readiness during his visit. US Navy photo.
The new head of the Navy’s surface fleet said his predecessor made major improvements in training and readiness, and he wants to use them as a foundation to improve the tactical side: more advanced warfighting training, more self-sufficient ship crews, and more technology being pushed out to ships and unmanned vessels. Read More
The Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Montgomery (LCS 8) returns to homeport at Naval Base San Diego following the successful completion of a 12-month rotational deployment. Montgomery operated in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with partners and serve as a ready-response force. US Navy photo.
USS Montgomery (LCS-8) recently wrapped up its maiden deployment – and the ship class’s first since a restructure of the Littoral Combat Ship program – and the head of LCS operations said the ship leveraged lessons learned from earlier deployments to avoid readiness problems and make the most of its operational capabilities. Read More
The following is the May 4, 2020 Congressional Research Service report, Navy Frigate (FFG[X]) Program: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
The following is the April 17, 2020 Congressional Research Service report, Navy Frigate (FFG[X]) Program: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
