The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of the future USS Marinette (LCS-25) from Lockheed Martin this week at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin.
«Today marks a significant milestone in the life of the future USS Marinette (LCS-25)», said Captain Andy Gold, Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program manager. «I look forward to the commissioning of Marinette later this year and recognizing the contribution of her namesake town and the great shipbuilders who bring these warships to life, ensuring they are ready to accomplish mission tasking in support of our nation’s maritime strategy».
The ship successfully completed her acceptance trial in November 2022, which is the last milestone before the ship is delivered to the U.S. Navy. During the trial, the U.S. Navy conducted comprehensive tests of LCS-25’s systems, which spanned multiple functional areas essential to a ship being able to perform at sea – including main propulsion and auxiliaries and electrical systems. The ship also performed demonstrations of its operational capabilities, including a full power demonstration, steering and quick reversal, anchor drop test, and combat system detect-to-engage sequence. As a result of these successful trials, the U.S. Navy accepted delivery and will continue post-delivery certifications and qualifications to ready her for Fleet operations.
LCS-25 is outfitted with the combining gear correction that will allow for unrestricted operations. The correction addresses a class-wide flaw that was identified as the Fleet deployed these ships in greater numbers.
After her commissioning, planned for June 2023, Marinette will be homeported in Mayport, Florida.
Three more Freedom-variant ships are under construction at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin. The future USS Nantucket (LCS-27) is scheduled for delivery in the summer of 2023. Additional ships in various stages of construction include the future ships USS Beloit (LCS-29) and USS Cleveland (LCS-31). LCS-31 will be the final Freedom-variant LCS.
The LCS class is now the second-largest surface ship class in production. LCS is a highly maneuverable, lethal, and adaptable ship designed to support focused mine countermeasures and surface warfare missions. The Freedom and Independence-variant LCS integrate new technologies and capabilities to support current and future operational missions, from deep water to the littorals.
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 | 05-21-2022 | Mayport, Florida |
| USS Cooperstown (LCS-23) | 08-14-2018 | 01-19-2020 | Mayport, Florida | |
| USS Marinette (LCS-25) | 03-27-2019 | 10-31-2020 | Mayport, Florida | |
| USS Nantucket (LCS-27) | 10-09-2019 | 08-07-2021 | ||
| USS Beloit (LCS-29) | 07-22-2020 | 05-07-2022 | ||
| USS Cleveland (LCS-31) | 06-20-2021 |