Utilizing waterjet propulsion via combined diesel and gas turbine engines, the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is the U.S. Navy’s newest class of warships. Engineered to be a focused-mission, modular, surface combatant, the LCS is prepped for a variety of missions whether in littoral waters or deep seas.With half of the LCS fleet deployed at all times, the LCS 3:2:1 (3 Rotational Crews:2 Rotational Ships:1 Ship Deployed) rotational crewing concept provides twice the forward presence of other surface combatants. The LCS program was announced on November 1, 2001. The LCS is a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant that is to be equipped with modular “plug-and-fight” mission packages, including unmanned vehicles (UVs). Rather than being a multi-mission ship like the Navy’s larger surface combatants, the LCS is to be a focused-mission ship-meaning a ship equipped to perform one primary mission at any given time. The ship’s mission orientation can be changed by changing out its mission packages. The basic version of the LCS, without any mission packages, is referred to as the LCS sea frame.
On May 27, 2004, the U.S. Navy granted contract to two industry teams—one led by Lockheed Martin, and the other led by General Dynamics—to design and develop two versions of the LCS. The resulting designs differed notably from each other. The Lockheed Martin team based its design on a steel semi-planing monohull with an aluminum superstructure. The General Dynamics team based its prototype on an entirely aluminum trimaran hull. In addition to having differing structures, the two prototypes are also integrated with different combat systems, sensors, computers, software, and tactical displays. According to the U.S. Navy, both LCS designs meet the Key Performance Parameters (KPPs) for the LCS program. Traditionally, LCSs were named after U.S. mid-tier cities, small towns, and other American communities. Later, the naming convention changed to regionally important U.S. cities and communities. The only exception happened on February 10, 2012, when the U.S. Navy announced that it was naming LCS-10 after former Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords.
Builder | Lockheed Martin |
Length | 387.6 ft. (118.1 meters) |
Beam | 57.7 ft. (17.6 meters) |
Displacement | approximately 3,400 MT full load |
Draft | 14.1 ft. (4.3 meters) |
Speed | 40+ knots. |
Builder | General Dynamics (LCS 2 and LCS 4), Austal USA (LCS 6 and following) |
Length | 418.6 ft. (127.6 meters) |
Beam | 103.7 ft. (31.6 meters) |
Displacement | approximately 3,100 MT full load |
Draft | 14.4 ft (4.4 meters) |
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