Within the Littoral Combat Ship Program (LCS), the US Navy has awarded the consortium consisting of Fincantieri, through its subsidiary Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM), and Lockheed Martin Corporation, a contract to build an additional LCS.
LCS 31 will be the 16th ship of the LCS Program Freedom-variant, one of the US Navy’s main shipbuilding programs. The Fincantieri and Lockheed Martin team is in full-rate production of the Freedom-variant, and has delivered seven ships to the U.S. Navy to date. There are seven ships in various stages of construction at Fincantieri Marinette Marine.
The construction contract for the LCS Program Freedom-variant was awarded to FMM in 2010, within the partnership by Lockheed Martin, global leader in the defense sector. It relates to a new generation of mid-sized multirole vessels, designed for surveillance activities and coastal defense for deep water operations as well as capabilities for addressing asymmetrical threats such as mines, silent diesel submarines and fast surface ships. LCS Freedom-variant vessels have been successfully deployed to the Western Pacific.
LCS 31 will be built in Marinette, Wisconsin, at FMM, the Midwest’s only naval shipyard, and is the 16th Freedom-variant LCS ordered by the Navy to date. The team will leverage capital investment and improvement in the shipyard and efficiencies created with serial production to maintain high quality at an affordable cost.
“We are excited to continue our partnership with the Navy and FMM to build and deliver capable ships to the fleet. With the Freedom-variant in serial production, we continue to enhance efficiency and incorporate capability while maintaining ship and program affordability,” said Joe DePietro, Vice President and General Manager, Lockheed Martin Small Combatants and Ship Systems.
Since the LCS program’s inception, Freedom-variant LCS production has injected hundreds of millions of dollars into local economies throughout the Midwest. The program supports thousands of direct and indirect jobs throughout the United States, including more than 7,500 in Michigan and Wisconsin.
The Lockheed Martin and FMM team is in full-rate production of the Freedom-variant and has delivered seven ships to the U.S. Navy to date. There are seven ships in various stages of construction at FMM.
Lockheed Martin’s Freedom-variant LCS is highly maneuverable, lethal and adaptable. Originally designed to support focused missions such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare, the team continues to evolve capabilities based on rigorous Navy operational testing, sailor feedback and multiple successful fleet deployments. The Freedom-variant LCS integrates new technology and capability to affordably support current and future mission capability from deep water to the littorals.
