The Lockheed Martin-led shipbuilding team launched Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 19, the future USS St. Louis into the Menominee River at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine Shipyard. Ship sponsor Barbara Broadhurst Taylor, the daughter of a decorated World War II aviator, christened USS St. Louis (LCS-19) just prior to launch.
«USS St. Louis (LCS-19) is the second ship we’ve christened and launched this year. Our shipbuilding team has truly hit its stride. We completed trials on three ships and delivered two more. Once delivered to the U.S. Navy, USS St. Louis LCS-19 will be on its way to independently completing targeted missions around the world», said Joe DePietro, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager of Small Combatants and Ship Systems. «We remain focused on delivering these affordable ships to the fleet as quickly as possible and increasing capability with each hull».
The Freedom-variant LCS integrates new technology and capability to affordably support current and future missions from deep water to the littorals. LCS is a highly maneuverable, lethal and adaptable ship, designed to support focused mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare missions. USS St. Louis (LCS-19) is targeted to support the mine countermeasures mission.
Lockheed Martin is in full-rate production and has delivered seven ships to the U.S. Navy. There are seven ships in various stages of production and test at Fincantieri Marinette Marine. This year, the Lockheed Martin-led team began construction on two ships, delivered two ships, completed sea trials for three ships and saw one delivered ship commissioned. LCS-13, the future USS Wichita, is slated for commissioning in Mayport, Florida, on January 12.
«I am thrilled and very honored to be the sponsor of the future USS St. Louis (LCS-19). The combination of my family’s military background and the enduring spirit of the great city of St. Louis make this incredibly meaningful», Taylor said. «This is the seventh ship to bear the name St. Louis, and I know that the people of our great city are extremely proud that this distinguished legacy will continue».
Unique among combat ships, LCS is designed to complete close-to-shore missions and is a growing and relevant part of the U.S. Navy’s fleet.
- It is fast – capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots/46 mph/74 km/h.
- It is automated – with the most efficient staffing of any combat ship.
- It is lethal – standard equipped with Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) and a Mark 110 gun, capable of firing 220 rounds per minute.
- It is flexible – with 40 percent of the hull easily reconfigurable, integrating capabilities like the Longbow Hellfire Missiles, 30-mm guns, and manned and unmanned vehicles targeted to meet today’s and tomorrow’s missions.
«We are proud to be building USS St. Louis LCS-19 and her sister ships at the heartland’s only naval shipyard», said Jan Allman, Fincantieri Marinette Marine president and CEO. «Today’s launch and christening is a testament to the hard work of more than 2,000 workers who pass through the shipyard’s gates, put on their hard hats and build American warships».
LCS-19 Christening and Launch
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 | 11-17-2018 | Mayport, Florida |
| USS Wichita (LCS-13) | 02-09-2015 | 09-17-2016 | Mayport, Florida | |
| USS Billings (LCS-15) | 11-02-2015 | 07-01-2017 | Mayport, Florida | |
| USS Indianapolis (LCS-17) | 07-18-2016 | 04-18-2018 | ||
| USS St. Louis (LCS-19) | 05-17-2017 | 12-15-2018 | ||
| USS Minneapolis/St. Paul (LCS-21) | 02-22-2018 | |||
| USS Cooperstown (LCS-23) | 08-14-2018 | |||
| USS Marinette LCS-25 | ||||
| USS Nantucket (LCS-27) | ||||
| USS Beloit (LCS-29) |