The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of the future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS-21) at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) shipyard November 18.
The future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS-21) is the 11th Freedom-variant LCS designed by the Lockheed Martin-led industry team at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, Marinette, Wisconsin. Delivery marks the official transfer of the ship from the shipbuilder, part of a Lockheed-Martin-led team to the U.S. Navy.
«Today marks a significant shipbuilding milestone in the life of the future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul, an exceptional ship which will conduct operations around the globe», said LCS program manager Captain Mike Taylor. «I look forward to seeing Minneapolis-Saint Paul join her sister ships with 100 percent of propulsion power available for unrestricted use».
USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS-21) was accepted after rigorous testing of a combining gear modification that will allow for unrestricted operations, addressing a class-wide flaw that was discovered as the Fleet deployed these ships in greater numbers. USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS-21) is the first Freedom-variant ship to receive the fix.
The future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS-21) is the second naval ship to honor Minnesota’s Twin Cities although each city has been honored twice before. The first U.S. Navy warship named Minneapolis-Saint Paul was a Los Angeles-class submarine launched in 1983 who took part in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (SSN-708) was the first submarine to carry Tomahawk missiles specifically designed for use in strikes against Iraq during the Gulf War. Having served for over two decades with distinction, the submarine Minneapolis-Saint Paul was decommissioned in 2007.
Several more Freedom variant ships are under construction at Fincantieri Marinette Marine Corp. in Marinette, Wisconsin. Pending successful at-sea testing of its combining gear modification, USS Cooperstown (LCS-23) is planned to deliver in January 2022. Additional ships in various stages of construction include USS Marinette (LCS-25), USS Nantucket (LCS-27), USS Beloit (LCS-29) and USS Cleveland (LCS-31).
The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is a fast, agile, mission-focused platform designed to operate in near-shore environments, winning against 21st-century coastal threats. The LCS is capable of supporting forward presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence.
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 | 01-12-2019 | Mayport, Florida |
| USS Billings (LCS-15) | 11-02-2015 | 07-01-2017 | 08-03-2019 | Mayport, Florida |
| USS Indianapolis (LCS-17) | 07-18-2016 | 04-18-2018 | 10-26-2019 | Mayport, Florida |
| USS St. Louis (LCS-19) | 05-17-2017 | 12-15-2018 | 08-08-2020 | Mayport, Florida |
| USS Minneapolis/St. Paul (LCS-21) | 02-22-2018 | 06-15-2019 | ||
| USS Cooperstown (LCS-23) | 08-14-2018 | 01-19-2020 | ||
| USS Marinette (LCS-25) | 03-27-2019 | 10-31-2020 | ||
| USS Nantucket (LCS-27) | 10-09-2019 | 08-07-2021 | ||
| USS Beloit (LCS-29) | 07-22-2020 | |||
| USS Cleveland (LCS-31) | 06-20-2021 |