A Royal Malaysian Navy service member stands by for the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Montgomery (LCS 8) to depart the Port of Lumut Base Jetty to participate in the sea phase of Maritime Training Activity (MTA) 2019. U.S. Air Force Photo
THE PENTAGON – The Navy wants to purchase nine battle force ships and decommission 11 hulls in its Fiscal Year 2024 budget request. Read More
Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Kerri Corcoran, assigned to the Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Montgomery (LCS-8), prepares to throw out a line while a tug boat comes alongside Montgomery to escort it into Davao City, Philippines on June 29, 2019. US Navy Photo
This is the first of a two-part series on the current state of the Littoral Combat Ship program.
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Five years from now, there may be as many Littoral Combat Ships deployed as there are destroyers. Read More
Lt. Ryan Griffith acts as the tactical action officer as Cmdr. Edward Rosso, commanding officer of the Independence variant littoral combat ship USS Montgomery (LCS 8), observes operations during a surface warfare scenario aboard the ship. Montgomery is underway in the eastern Pacific conducting the first-ever LCS surface warfare advanced tactical training (SWATT) event hosted by the Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center (SMWDC). US Navy photo.
The Navy conducted its first advanced tactical training event with the Littoral Combat Ship, ahead of USS Montgomery’s (LCS-8) deployment to the Pacific later this year. Read More
The future littoral combat ship USS Wichita (LCS 13) conducts acceptance trials, which are the last significant milestone before a ship is delivered to the Navy. US Navy photo.
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Littoral Combat Ship mission package program office considers itself to be out of the technology development business and fully into testing and production, the program manager said last week. Read More
USS Tulsa (LCS-16) launched on March 15, 2017. Austal USA photo.
This post has been updated to include additional information on Austal USA’s financial history with the Littoral Combat Ship program.
Federal agents visited Littoral Combat Ship manufacturer Austal USA in its Mobile, Ala., shipyard as part of an unspecified investigation involving the U.S. Navy, according to local media. Read More
USS Wichita (LCS-13) conducts acceptance trials on Lake Michigan on July 11, 2018. Lockheed Martin photo.
The Navy is optimistic it will deploy three Littoral Combat Ships by this fall, after not deploying any last year and grappling with significant gaps in manning and advanced training. Read More
The following is the February 2018 Annual Report to Congress for the Littoral Combat Ship Mission Modules Program Read More
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
Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado (LCS-4) transits the Bohol Sea on June 17, 2017. US NAvy Photo
This article is the first 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 -– The Littoral Combat Ship fleet has spent the last year in the midst of a reorganization and preparing for a new way of doing business following recommendations from a 2016 LCS Review that pointed the Navy towards injecting simplicity, stability and ownership into the unusual program.
A year into implementing those recommendations, the LCS fleet looks vastly different than originally envisioned – and to the benefit of both the program office, the sailors and operational commanders, several officers told USNI News. Read More
USS Jackson (LCS 6) successfully completed the first of three scheduled full ship shock trials June 10. US Navy photo.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Full ship shock trials on both variants of the Littoral Combat Ship proved the ships are survivable and will only need “relatively minor modifications,” according to Navy written testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee, but the Pentagon’s top operational tester warned in his written testimony that the shocks were performed at reduced severity due to concerns about excessive damage to the ships. Read More
