Free Republic

May 15, 2008 With naval battles on the high seas now virtually extinct for the U.S. armed forces, the navy's role has become more one of infantry invasion and airstrike support - and with this new role comes a need for vessels more suited to littoral (just offshore) operations. The initial order was placed back in 2005, and the first delivery, the U.S.S. Independence, has just been launched, a speedy trimaran with helicopter decks, a stealthy radar profile and a healthy array of arms. It's configurable to suit a wide array of littoral combat missions, including minesweeping, anti-submarine and surface...

The surface warfare module for the U.S. Navy's new LCS (Littoral Combat Ships) will contain an unusual collection of weapons. The only familiar item will be a MH-60R (a navalized Blackhawk) helicopter, armed with a 12.7mm machine-gun and Hellfire missiles (with a range of 8 kilometers). There will be three other aircraft, all RQ-8A Fire Scout UAVs. Each of these is a 1.5 ton unmanned helicopter, that will be armed with 70mm laser guided DAGR missiles. These 25 pound missiles have a range of six kilometers. There will be two 23 foot long Spartan USVs (unmanned surface vehicles), each armed...

We’ve been hearing rumblings about the U.S. Navy’s triple-hulled ships, but here’s one that was launched last month, the U.S.S Independence. Built by General Dynamics, it’s called a “littoral combat ship” (LCS), and the trimaran can move huge weapons around faster than any ship in the Navy. Ironic that with all that high tech built in, the ship reminds us of the Merrimac ironclad from Civil War days. Littoral means close to shore, and that’s where these fleet-hulled babies will operate, tailor-made for launching helicopters and armored vehicles, sweeping mines and firing all manner of torpedoes, missiles and machine guns....

SAN DIEGO – The Navy has scaled back plans to build an innovative but unexpectedly costly warship set to undergo testing in San Diego this year. In the budget proposed this month, President Bush called for acquiring two Littoral Combat Ships instead of the six previously forecast. Navy officials said they want to delay construction of more littoral ships so they have enough time to test the prototypes, the Freedom and the Independence. They plan to examine the prototypes for design advantages, versatility and high-tech features. The information they gather will be incorporated into any future model of the ship....

<p>Arch Cape, Oregon) – The mysterious chunks of wood have shown up periodically over the last few decades, sticking out of the sand like doomed creatures trying to make their last, desperate escape from a dreadful fate beneath the rest of the world. They make momentary impressions on passersby, who have no clue to the real meaning of these muted witnesses to an age practically before Mankind. They are unintentional memorials to the grandiose forest that once stood here, now reduced to twisted, tortured shapes that scream silently from another epoch.</p>

A team led by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - News) has won a $5.4 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to determine the feasibility of using supercavitation technology for stable, controllable, high-speed underwater transport. The Underwater Express program is a DARPA technology research and evaluation program to establish the potential of a new technology. Supercavitation creates a gas cavity between the vehicle surface and the water, thereby reducing drag and increasing vehicle speed. The program's ultimate goal is a new class of underwater craft for littoral missions that can transport small groups of Navy personnel or...

MARINETTE, Wis., Sept. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- History was made here today when the nation's first Littoral Combat Ship, FREEDOM (LCS-1) -- the inaugural ship in an entirely new class of U.S. Navy surface warships -- was christened and launched at the Marinette Marine shipyard. The agile 377-foot FREEDOM -- designed and built by a team led by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT - News) -- will help the Navy defeat growing littoral, or close-to- shore, threats and provide access and dominance in coastal water battlespace. Displacing 3,000 metric tons and with a capability of reaching speeds well over 40 knots, FREEDOM...

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy announced April 27 that the first four Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) will be homeported at Naval Station San Diego, Calif. Key in the success of implementing these new concepts is the ability to colocate these ships to achieve readiness alignment and economy of scale. This colocation is especially important for the first ships in the class as waterfront facilities, infrastructure, training and maintenance efficiencies are developed. San Diego was chosen as the initial homeport because of the Navy’s increased emphasis on the Pacific theater based on the Quadrennial Defense Review. “Homeporting the first four ships...

Israel Considering Lockheed's Littoral Combat Ship Design The U.S. Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin a foreign military sales contract valued at nearly $5.2 million to conduct a nine-month Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) feasibility study for the Israeli Navy. Under the contract Lockheed Martin will examine possible modifications to its modified Fincantieri racing hull design, to see if it can meet specific Israeli naval requirements. This means examining its competing LCS design for hull, mechanical and electrical system compatibility with the Israeli Navy's combat systems and other requirements - especially important since the Israelis use a lot of indigenous weapons and...

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter has named the Navy's newest Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) – Independence. “Independence, along with USS Freedom, are going to be great 21st century ships. Their speed and agility are widely recognized. I believe that their modular approach yields tremendous flexibility for employing these ships and for taking the fight right to the enemy’s shoreline," Winter said. The name Independence recognizes the cornerstone of our nation’s foundation that so many Americans have fought and died to ensure. Five previous ships have also had that name. The first Independence was a 10-gun...

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The U.S. Navy announced Dec. 2 that USS Freedom (LCS 1), the first littoral combat ship of the LCS 1 class, will be homeported at Naval Station San Diego, Calif. Freedom is expected to be delivered to the Navy in December 2006 and arrive in San Diego in early 2007. Freedom-class ships are designed to counter challenging shallow-water threats in coastal regions, specifically mines, diesel submarines and fast surface craft. A fast, agile, and high-tech surface combatant, they will utilize mission-focused packages that deploy manned and unmanned vehicles to execute a variety of missions. On May 27,...