The U.S. Navy’s ability to operate anywhere, anytime is essential.
The Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship is a resilient flexible warship, designed from the keel up to affordably take on new capabilities – from the most advanced sensors, to the latest missiles, to cutting-edge cyber systems.
Its speed, strength and versatility make it a critical tool to help our Sailors achieve the mission.
Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 13, the future USS Wichita, has officially completed Acceptance Trials in the waters of Lake Michigan.
(Littoral Combat Ship 13 (LCS 13), the future USS Wichita, completed its Acceptance Trials in July 2018. It’s slated to be delivered to the U.S. Navy later this year. Courtesy of Lockheed Martin and Vimeo. Posted on Jul 13, 2018.)
LCS 13 is the seventh Freedom-variant LCS designed and built by the Lockheed Martin -led industry team, and is slated for delivery to the U.S. Navy later this summer.
“LCS 13’s completion of Acceptance Trials means this ship is one step closer to joining the fleet and conducting critical maritime operations for the Navy,” said Joe DePietro, vice president, Small Combatants and Ship Systems at Lockheed Martin.
“This ship is agile, powerful and lethal, and the industry team and I are looking forward to her delivery, commissioning and deployment.”
The trials, conducted July 9-12, included a full-power run, maneuverability testing and air detect-to-engage demonstrations of the ship’s combat system.
Major systems and features were demonstrated including aviation support, and small boat launch handling and recovery.
“I am extremely proud of our LCS team including our shipbuilders at Fincantieri Marinette Marine,” said Jan Allman, Fincantieri Marinette Marine President and CEO.
“These are complex vessels, and it takes a strong team effort to design, build and test these American warships.”
The future USS Wichita is one of eight ships in various stages of production and test at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, with one more in long-lead production.
(USS Wichita (LCS-13) will be a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. It will be the third ship named after Wichita, the largest city in Kansas. Courtesy of U.S MILITARY DISTRICT and YouTube. Posted on Mar 16, 2018.)
