The U.S. Navy deployed its third Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), USS Fort Worth, on a 16-month journey to Southeast Asia for an expedition that will build upon the success of USS Freedom’s 2013 voyage. The new ship will operate from Singapore, the Navy announced.

The U.S. Navy has said that while deployed, the ship will visit more ports, collaborate with more navies and expand LCS capabilities including the MQ-8B Fire Scout Vertical Takeoff and Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. USS Fort Worth departed from his homeport Naval Station San Diego (California) on November 17 and is due back in March 2016.

The ship’s Commander, Kendall Bridgewater, was enthusiastic about the upcoming mission and expressed his confidence in recent interviews with media who were invited to tour the ship prior to deployment. «The LCS is a fast ship with a shallow draft, which allows it to go into ports other Navy ships can’t access», Bridgewater said. «We can go in and engage with a lot more partners and allies», he said.

Along with an expansion of operations from the 2013 deployment, Fort Worth will be the first LCS to test the Navy’s so-called «3-2-1» deployment scheme. In fact, such a scheme of service is a classic shift work. Specifically, three crews will each take a four-month rotation on two LCS ships, one deployed and one in port. The idea of this scheme is to minimize crew fatigue and maximize the utility of a forward deployed ship. The service plans to have USS Fort Worth deployed for a total of 16 months.

USS Forth Worth embarked with a detachment from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 35 that will operate both a MH-60R Seahawk manned helicopter and a MQ-8B Fire Scout rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

The ship, which has traveled more than 40,000 nautical miles, is the second LCS built by the Lockheed Martin-led industry team, which includes Marinette Marine Corporation (MMC) and Gibbs & Cox. Forth Worth was delivered to the Navy in 2012, two months ahead of schedule.

While USS Fort Worth conducts its mission in Southeast Asia, the industry team continues to build Freedom-variant LCSs at MMC in Marinette, Wisconsin, with six under construction:

USS Freedom (LCS-1) – commissioned 2008 – San Diego

USS Fort Worth (LCS-3) – commissioned 2012 – San Diego

USS Milwaukee (LCS-5) – commissioned 2015

USS Detroit (LCS-7)

USS Little Rock (LCS-9)

USS Sioux City (LCS-11)

USS Witchta (LCS-13)

USS Billings (LCS-15)

USS Indianapolis (LCS-17)

Ship Design Specifications

Hull:                                                   Advanced semiplaning steel monohull

Length Overall:                           118.6 meters (389 feet)

Beam Overall:                              17.5 meters (57 feet)

Draft:                                                 4.1 meters (13.5 feet)

Full Load Displacement:        Approximately 3,200 metric tons

Top Speed:                                     Greater than 40 knots

Watercraft Launch and Recovery:    Up to Sea State 4

Aircraft Launch and Recovery:            Up to Sea State 5

Propulsion:                                     Combined diesel and gas turbine with steerable water jet propulsion

Hangar Space:                              Two H-60 helos or one H-60 helo and three VTUAVs

Core Crew:                                     Less than 50; Accommodations for 75 sailors provide higher sailor quality of life than current fleet

Integrated Bridge System:    Fully digital nautical charts are interfaced to ship sensors to support safe ship operation

Core Self-Defense Suite:       Includes 3D air search radar, Rolling Airframe Missile, medium caliber gun, EO/IR gunfire control system and decoy launching system

 

MH-60R Seahawk Specifications

Dimensions

Operating length                      64.83 ft/19.76 m

Operating width                       53.66 ft/16.35 m

Operating height                      16.70 ft/5.10 m

Folded length                              41.05 ft/12.51 m

Folded width                               11.00 ft/3.35 m

Folded height                              12.92 ft/3.94 m

Main rotor diameter               53.66 ft/16.35 m

Tail rotor diameter                  11.00 ft/3.35 m

Airframe Characteristics

Mission gross weight (Surface Warfare, SUW)        21,290 lb/9,657 kg

Maximum takeoff gross weight                              23,500 lb/10,681.82 kg

Engines                                           (2) T700-GE-401C

Mission endurance (SUW)  3.30 hours

Dash speed                                  140 kts/259 km/h

Weapons                                      Anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, 50 cal. guns

Auxiliary fuel                              Up to two external tanks

 

LCS 3 Builder’s Trials

Freedom Class LCS (Littoral Combat Ship)(http://navyarm.blogspot.ru/2014/11/freedom-class-lcs.html)