LCS 11 completes acceptance trials on Lake Michigan

Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 11, the future Sioux City, recently completed acceptance trials on the waters of Lake Michigan. Constructed at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, Marinette, Wis., LCS 11 is the sixth 387.6’x57.7′ 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 11’s completion of acceptance trials means this ship is one step closer to joining the fleet and conducting critical maritime operations for the Navy,” Joe DePietro , vice president, small combatants and ship systems at Lockheed Martin, said in a prepared statement. “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 May 20-24 , included surface and air detect-to-engage demonstrations of the ship’s combat system. Major systems and features were demonstrated, including aviation support, small boat launch handling and recovery and ride control.

“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.”

Sioux City is one of eight ships in various stages of production and test at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, with one more in long-lead production. The next Freedom-variant in the class is LCS 13, the future Wichita. LCS 13 is slated to complete acceptance trials in early summer with delivery this year.

Lockheed Martin’s Freedom-variant LCS is a highly maneuverable, lethal and adaptable ship, designed to support focused-missions in the areas of mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare, company officials said. The Freedom-variant LCS integrates new technology and capability to affordably support current and future mission capability from deep water to the littorals.