Lockheed Martin said it delivered the first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) to the U.S. Navy on Thursday, about a year after it was originally scheduled.
"This is a truly exciting day for the Navy. Today marks a critical milestone in fulfilling the need and realizing the vision we began just a few years ago," Capt. James Murdoch, the LCS Program Manager said.
"Despite our challenges, the Navy and industry have continued to press on to build and deliver the first ship of a unique class, a ship class that will give our Nation our own asymmetric advantages against future maritime threats."
"I am extremely proud of all the men and women of Lockheed Martin, Marinette Marine, Gibbs & Cox and Bollinger whose hard work has successfully delivered Freedom to the fleet," said Dan Schultz, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin's Maritime Security & Ship Systems business.
"Our team is prepared to build more of these agile warships to give the Navy unsurpassed capabilities and dominance in the littorals."
The 378-foot Freedom -- a survivable, semi-planing steel monohull -- will help the Navy defeat growing threats and provide access and dominance in the littoral battlespace. Reaching speeds over 40 knots and displacing 3,000 metric tons, Freedom is a fast, maneuverable and networked surface combatant with operational flexibility to execute focused missions, such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare and the potential for a wide range of additional missions including maritime interdiction and humanitarian/disaster relief.
In 2004, the Navy awarded a contract to the Lockheed Martin team to develop the first LCS. Construction began in February 2005 and Freedom was christened and launched in September 2006.
This represents less than half the time typically required to design, build, launch and deliver a first-in-class combatant. Freedom successfully completed sea trials in August 2008 and will be commissioned on November 8, 2008 in Milwaukee, WI and eventually homeported in San Diego, CA.
The Project has been dogged by cost overruns from both defense contractors building the ships, Lockheed and General Dynamics
The Pentagon overhauled the program last year, but is still unsure of how many more to build as cost estimates are now more than twice the initial projections of $220 million per ship.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Navy said it was unhappy with bids submitted by Lockheed and General Dynamics for three more LCS ships, and asked both companies to go back and provide more information.
The Navy had planned to award new LCS contracts -- two ships to the winning bidder and one to the other -- by early August, but officials have been tight-lipped about any award date.
The Lockheed Martin-led industry team for LCS also includes naval architect Gibbs & Cox, ship builders Marinette Marine, a subsidiary of The Manitowoc Company, Inc. and Bollinger Shipyards,and others.
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