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2012-10-01

Fort Worth Littoral Combat Ship Designed to defeat growing littoral threats

A fast, maneuverable and networked surface combatant, the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) provides the required warfighting capabilities and operational flexibility to execute focused missions close to the shore such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare.

Design and the Team

The Lockheed Martin-led team includes naval architect Gibbs & Cox and ship builder Marinette Marine, as well as best-of-industry domestic and international teammates. The team’s design, a proven semi-planing steel monohull, provides outstanding agility and high-speed maneuverability with proven sea-keeping characteristics and innovative design features to support launch and recovery operations of manned and unmanned vehicles. Its common combat system provides commonality with the U.S. Navy’s fleet and allows unprecedented interoperability, while making training more cost effective. The ship’s design also provides flexibility – its shallow draft and narrow beam allow greater access to global ports given existing infrastructure, which is essential for this ship’s missions.

Reaching speeds of more than 40 knots, the highly automated and networked surface combatant’s flexibility enables it to execute mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, maritime interdiction and humanitarian/disaster relief missions.

Core Defense Systems

Resident capabilities on the LCS in all configurations include self defense, navigation and C4I. Self-defense features include:

• Rolling-Airframe Missile Launching System

• 57 mm Main Gun

• Mine, Torpedo Detection

• Decoy system

Mission Packages

Surface Warfare Mission Package (SUW MP): Provides the capability to conduct enhanced range coordinated detection, tracking, classification, identification and neutralization of groups of attacking, multiple, small boat threats and to conduct maritime security missions. SUW mission package consists of MH-60 Romeo Helicopter with eight Hellfire missiles, a .50 caliber machine gun, and a 7.62 mm machine gun, VTUAV (Vertical Takeoff Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), Two 30 mm Gun Module that uses the MK 46 MOD (X) Gun Weapon System with MK 44 MOD 2 30 mm Automatic Cannon, Surface-to-Surface Missile Module (SSMM), which will use the Griffin Block llB missile for Increment I and a yet to be determined missile for Increment II, which will provide extended range neutralization capabilities, Maritime Security Module which uses two 11 m Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs); Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) gear; two berthing modules with gear storage; and one head and shower module.

Anti-Submarine Warfare Mission Package (ASW MP): Provides the capability to detect, classify, localize and prosecute enemy submarines. ASW mission package consists of MH-60 Romeo Helicopter with Forward Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR), Laser Rangefinder/ Designator (LRD), Inverse Synthetic Aperture (ISAR), Airborne Low Frequency Sonar (ALFS), sonobuoys, and MK54 Lightweight Hybrid Torpedoes, VTUAV, ASW Escort Module with towed Variable Depth Sonar (VDS) active source, a Multi-Function Towed Array (MFTA) acoustic receiver, and Continuous Active Sonar (CAS) processing and system control , Torpedo Defense Module with an MFTA with Acoustic Intercept (ACI) for alertment and a Light Weight Tow (LWT) for countermeasures.

Mine Countermeasures Mission Package (MCM MP): Provides the capability to conduct minehunting (detection, classification, identification and neutralization) and mine sweeping operations for mine threats. MCM mission package consists of MH-60 Sierra Helicopter , VTUAV , Remote Multi-Mission Vehicles (RMMVs), AN/AQS-20A Mine Hunting Sonars, Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS), Airborne Mine Neutralization System (AMNS), Organic Airborne and Surface Influence Sweep (OASIS), Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV), Unmanned Surface Sweep System (US3), Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA), Surface Mine Countermeasures Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (SMCM UUV).

Interoperability

LCS’s open architecture enables rapid and cost-effective technology insertion and spiral development capability. LCSs are networked to share tactical information with other naval aircraft, ships, submarines, joint and coalition units and LCS groups, providing the right people with the right information quickly and efficiently.

Intelligent System Manager (ISM-X™): ISM-X™ provides a fully integrated plant management system for propulsion, electric plant, auxiliaries and engineering casualty/damage control systems. It employs open software architecture, distributed processing and an integrated development environment to reduce the labor and material costs of implementation, while improving overall system performance, reliability and flexibility.

COMBATSS-21: Open architecture integrated combat management system derived from the Common Source Library that produces the Advance Capability Build (ACB) 12 used across the U.S. Navy’s latest Aegis surface combatants. COMBATSS-21 provides the backbone of the self defense suite, integrating the radar, electro optical / infrared cameras, gun fire control system, countermeasures and short range anti-air missiles.

Future of LCS

The Lockheed Martin team constructed USS Freedom (LCS 1), which was delivered to the Navy in 2008 and successfully completed its first deployment in 2010. In June, the team delivered its second LCS, Fort Worth (LCS 3), to the Navy two months early. The team’s next two ships – the Milwaukee (LCS 5) and the Detroit (LCS 7) – are currently under construction. In March, the Navy issued a contract modification to the Lockheed Martin team to build the Little Rock (LCS 9) and Sioux City (LCS 11) as part of the Navy’s revised 2010 acquisition strategy. The strategy calls for 10 ships to be awarded to the Lockheed Martin-led team between 2010 and 2015 .

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