LITTORAL COMBAT SHIP

The U.S. Navy is developing the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) as a member of a new surface combatant family of ships, which includes next-generation DD(X) destroyers, focused primarily on power projection, and CG(X) cruisers focused primarily on air and missile defense. The LCS requirement has been identified as part of a broader surface combatant force transformation strategy in response to Defense Planning Guidance and the 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR).

To achieve and maintain battlespace superiority, the Navy must assure unimpeded access and maintain dominance in dangerous littoral or coastal regions where growing asymmetric or unconventional threats, such as mines, diesel submarines, and surface attack craft, can disrupt military operations. The Navy is developing the LCS as a specialized, reconfigurable platform to counter these anti-access littoral threats.

The planned rapid acquisition of the LCS provides a focused-mission response for improving littoral warfighting capabilities. The ship’s unique combat capabilities, innovative design, and rapid adaptability will complement and leverage the capabilities of larger multi-mission combatants, while distributing and strengthening U.S. military capability as a whole.

In support of the Navy’s Sea Power 21 strategic vision, the versatile LCS will deliver focused mission capabilities to enable joint and combined forces to operate effectively in the littoral. In addition to providing improved capabilities for mine countermeasures, anti-surface warfare, and shallow-water anti-submarine warfare, the LCS will support other missions, such as Maritime Interception Operations (MIO), Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), homeland defense, special operations, or logistics support, as required. The ship’s mission capabilities will be addressed with a mix of manned and unmanned systems (vehicles or sensors) deployed on, above, or under the sea.

The LCS will be relatively small, displacing between 1,000-4,000 tons; fast, capable of speeds of between 40-50 knots; and optimized for shallow-water operations with a maximum draft of 20 feet. The ship’s core platform or “seaframe” (naval equivalent of an airframe) will be used to deliver specialize or focused-mission capability as requested by assigned fleet or operational commanders.

The fast and agile LCS will be optimized for littoral missions and often deployed as part of a larger, netted, and distributed force. The ship will also be able to operate independently, defend itself, and reconfigure for different missions using modular mission “packages”, depending on operational needs. This open “plug and play” approach will enhance the ship’s ability to meet new and changing requirements, offering warfighting commanders maximum flexibility.

The LCS requirements process is tailored to support the rapid delivery of two flights (Flight 0 and 1) of ships, using an evolutionary, more flexible “spiral” acquisition approach. The spiral development process allows time-phased capability improvement for ship and mission systems. This incremental development and delivery strategy supports the ship’s accelerated acquisition schedule, diverse threat and capability requirements, and dynamic levels of technology push/pull. The ship’s modular, open design will also enable lifecycle adaptability and affordability.

The following three companies were each awarded a firm-fixed-price contract 17 July 2003 for the performance of Flight 0 LCS Preliminary Design: General Dynamics - Bath Iron Works, Bath, ME ; Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems – Surface Systems, Washington, DC ; Raytheon Company, Integrated Defense Systems, Portsmouth, RI. Each contractor will perform a seven-month preliminary design effort to refine its proposed Littoral Combat Ship concept. Designs are due in late January 2004 with a final design contract/(s) award for Flight 0 expected in spring 2004, and options for Detail Design and Construction in FY05 and FY06.

This is an Official U.S. Navy Website

Last Updated: 29-Sep-2004

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LITTORAL COMBAT SHIP

This is an Official U.S. Navy Website