The Lockheed Martin-led industry team officially laid the keel for the U.S. Navy’s 21st Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS-21), in a ceremony held at Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wisconsin.

Ship sponsor Jodi Greene completed the time-honored tradition and authenticated the keel by welding her initials onto a steel plate that will be placed in the hull of the ship.

«It is a tremendous honor to serve as the sponsor of the future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul», Greene said. «I look forward to supporting the ship and its crew throughout the building process and the life of the ship. I know the people of Minneapolis and Saint Paul will proudly support her when she is commissioned and officially enters the Navy fleet».

The Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine team is currently in full-rate production of the Freedom-variant of the LCS, and has delivered five ships to the U.S. Navy to date. The future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul is one of eight ships in various stages of construction at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, with one more in long-lead production.

«We are proud to build another proven warship that allows our Navy to carry out their missions around the world», said Joe DePietro, Lockheed Martin vice president of small combatants and ship systems. «We look forward to working with the U.S. Navy to continue building and delivering highly capable and adaptable Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ships to the fleet».

USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS-21) will be the second vessel named for the Twin Cities. SSN-708, a Los Angeles-class submarine, served as the first USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul and was decommissioned in 2008. Her name honors the Twin Cities’ patriotic, hard-working citizens for their support of the military.

The Freedom-variant LCS team is comprised of Lockheed Martin, shipbuilder Fincantieri Marinette Marine, naval architect Gibbs & Cox and more than 800 suppliers in 42 states.

 

Ship Design Specifications

Hull	Advanced semiplaning steel monohull
Length Overall	389 feet/118.6 m
Beam Overall	57 feet/17.5 m
Draft	13.5 feet/4.1 m
Full Load Displacement	Approximately 3,200 metric tons
Top Speed	Greater than 40 knots/46 mph/74 km/h
Range at top speed	1,000 NM/1,151 miles/1,852 km
Range at cruise speed	4,000 NM/4,603 miles/7,408 km
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
Power	85 MW/113,600 horsepower
Hangar Space	Two MH-60 Romeo Helicopters
	One MH-60 Romeo Helicopter and three Vertical Take-off and Land Tactical Unmanned Air Vehicles (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
	Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) gunfire control system
	Rolling-Airframe Missile Launching System
	57-mm Main Gun
	Mine, Torpedo Detection
	Decoy Launching System

 

Freedom-class

Ship	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Homeport
USS Freedom (LCS-1)	06-02-2005	09-23-2006	11-08-2008	San Diego, California
USS Fort Worth (LCS-3)	07-11-2009	12-07-2010	09-22-2012	San Diego, California
USS Milwaukee (LCS-5)	10-27-2011	12-18-2013	11-21-2015	San Diego, California
USS Detroit (LCS-7)	08-11-2012	10-18-2014	10-22-2016	San Diego, California
USS Little Rock (LCS-9)	06-27-2013	07-18-2015	12-16-2017	San Diego, California
USS Sioux City (LCS-11)	02-19-2014	01-30-2016
USS Wichita (LCS-13)	02-09-2015	09-17-2016
USS Billings (LCS-15)	11-02-2015	07-01-2017
USS Indianapolis (LCS-17)	07-18-2016
USS St. Louis (LCS-19)	05-17-2017
USS Minneapolis/St. Paul (LCS-21)	02-22-2018
USS Cooperstown (LCS-23)
USS Marinette LCS-25
USS Nantucket (LCS-27)