Tag Archives: Rear Adm. Brian Antonio

Shock Trials, Missile Launches, CONOPS Refinement Await LCS Program This Summer

Shock Trials, Missile Launches, CONOPS Refinement Await LCS Program This Summer

The littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) transits alongside the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) in preparation for a replenishment-at-sea training exercise on April 28, 2015. US Navy photo.

The littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS-1) transits alongside the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) in preparation for a replenishment-at-sea training exercise on April 28, 2015. US Navy photo.

The Littoral Combat Ship program will reach several major milestones in the coming months, from conducting full ship shock trials on both hull variants, to demonstrating a new expeditionary mine mission package, to refining operational concepts, the outgoing program executive officer told USNI News in a May 2 interview. Read More

LCS Mine Countermeasures Package May Be Headed For Single IOT&E For All 4 Increments

LCS Mine Countermeasures Package May Be Headed For Single IOT&E For All 4 Increments

The littoral combat ship USS Independence (LCS-2) deploys a remote multi-mission vehicle (RMMV) while testing the ship’s mine countermeasures mission package (MCM). US Navy Photo

The littoral combat ship USS Independence (LCS-2) deploys a remote multi-mission vehicle (RMMV) while testing the ship’s mine countermeasures mission package (MCM). US Navy Photo

Though the Littoral Combat Ship’s mine countermeasures mission package originally laid out a four-increment fielding plan that made use of three unmanned vehicles, a shakeup in those vehicles’ roles may lead to a single operational test by 2020 that would clear all four increments for use, the Program Executive Officer for LCS told USNI News. Read More

Navy to Demo Harpoon Missile on LCS at RIMPAC; NSM on USS Freedom by Next Deployment

Navy to Demo Harpoon Missile on LCS at RIMPAC; NSM on USS Freedom by Next Deployment

A Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is launched from the littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) during missile testing operations off the coast of Southern California in September 2014. US Navy photo.

A Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is launched from the littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) during missile testing operations off the coast of Southern California in September 2014. US Navy photo.

This post has been updated to include additional information from Naval Sea Systems Command.

The Littoral Combat Ship program is poised to make big strides this year in its strike capability, both with over-the-horizon missiles and the shorter-range Longbow Hellfire missile. Read More

LCS-4 Deployment Will Evaluate Ship Capabilities Ahead of 2018 Frigate Downselect

LCS-4 Deployment Will Evaluate Ship Capabilities Ahead of 2018 Frigate Downselect

Sailors assigned to Surface Warfare Mission Package Detachment 2 prepare to be hoisted out of the water by the littoral combat ship USS Coronado's (LCS 4) twin-boom-extensible crane following a visit, board, search and seizure training exercise on Aug. 15, 2015. US Navy photo.

Sailors assigned to Surface Warfare Mission Package Detachment 2 prepare to be hoisted out of the water by USS Coronado’s (LCS-4) twin-boom-extensible crane following a visit, board, search and seizure training exercise on Aug. 15, 2015. US Navy photo.

WASHINGTON NAVY YARD – As the Navy shifts from a two-variant frigate acquisition plan to a competition between the two Littoral Combat Ship builders, getting USS Coronado (LCS-4) out on its first deployment ahead of the frigate downselect will go a long way in validating the ship’s advertised capabilities, the Program Executive Officer for Littoral Combat Ships told USNI News. Read More

Navy Declares IOC On Independence-Variant Littoral Combat Ship; Future Of Mine Warfare Package Still Unclear

Navy Declares IOC On Independence-Variant Littoral Combat Ship; Future Of Mine Warfare Package Still Unclear

150815-N-KR961-068 PACIFIC OCEAN (Aug. 15, 2015) Sailors assigned to Surface Warfare Mission Package Detachment 2 prepare to be hoisted out of the water by the littoral combat ship USS Coronado's (LCS 4) twin-boom-extensible crane following a visit, board, search and seizure training exercise. Coronado conducted predeployment assessment and evaluation on the performance of shipboard equipment during a week-long underway off the coast of California. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Debra Daco/Released)

Sailors assigned to Surface Warfare Mission Package Detachment 2 prepare to be hoisted out of the water by the littoral combat ship USS Coronado’s (LCS 4) twin-boom-extensible crane following a visit, board, search and seizure training exercise on Aug. 15, 2015. US Navy photo.

The Navy declared initial operational capability on the Independence variant of the Littoral Combat Ship last month, a formal step after years of the ship operating off the U.S. coast. Read More

PEO LCS Barred From Deploying Early Version Of Anti-Sub Mission Package

PEO LCS Barred From Deploying Early Version Of Anti-Sub Mission Package

The littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) transits the South China Sea in July 2015 during a 16-month rotational deployment in support of the Indo-Asia-Pacific rebalance. US Navy photo.

The littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) transits the South China Sea in July 2015 during a 16-month rotational deployment in support of the Indo-Asia-Pacific rebalance. US Navy photo.

The Navy will not be able to send its anti-submarine warfare (ASW) mission package out to sea this year as planned, due to a restriction lawmakers put into the Fiscal Year 2016 funding bill. Read More

USS Fort Worth Successfully Tested Overseas Maintenance Outside of Singapore Hub

USS Fort Worth Successfully Tested Overseas Maintenance Outside of Singapore Hub

USS Fort Worth (LCS-3), bottom, the guided missile destroyer USS Sampson (DDG-102) in the Java Sea on Jan. 14, 2015. US Navy Photo

USS Fort Worth (LCS-3), bottom, the guided missile destroyer USS Sampson (DDG-102) in the Java Sea on Jan. 14, 2015. US Navy Photo

The second Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) has proven so much more reliable than the first that the Navy has been able to experiment with a new expeditionary maintenance model to extend the reach of the ship, the program executive officer for LCS told USNI News last week. Read More

Navy Frigate Requirements Will Be Finalized Soon, Will Inform Decision on Hull Downselect

Navy Frigate Requirements Will Be Finalized Soon, Will Inform Decision on Hull Downselect

The guided-missile frigate USS Gary (FFG-51), top, and the littoral combat ship USS Independence (LCS-2) conduct a photo exercise off the coast of Central America in January. US Navy photo.

The guided-missile frigate USS Gary (FFG-51), top, and the littoral combat ship USS Independence (LCS-2) conduct a photo exercise off the coast of Central America in January. US Navy photo.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Program Executive Office for Littoral Combat Ships (PEO LCS) is working with both its shipbuilders to determine how to bring the current LCS designs into a more lethal and survivable frigate design, while it works with other Navy offices to finalize the frigate requirements. Read More