By Geoff Fein
Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] USS Freedom (LCS-1), the first of a new breed of multi-mission Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), began builders trials Monday, nearly two years since she was side launched into the Menominee River in Marinette, Wis.
The trials–which are a coordinated effort between the Navy and the Lockheed Martin team–will include operational testing of the vessel’s propulsion, communications, navigation and mission systems, as well as all related support systems, the company said.
The news that Freedom began builder’s trials comes during a tough few weeks for Navy shipbuilding.
“Getting Freedom underway is a significant step in the ship’s steady progress toward entering the fleet,” LCS Program Manager Capt. James Murdoch told Defense Daily. “Freedom has overcome many challenges to reach this important milestone. LCS-1 will add tremendous capabilities to the fleet for our sailors.”
Lockheed Martin’s team includes naval architects Gibbs & Cox, and ship builders Marinette Marine [MTW] and Bollinger Shipyards.
Following the completion of builder’s trials, Freedom will return to Marinette Marine to prepare for acceptance trials that will be conducted by the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey. LCS-1 will be delivered to the Navy later this year and home ported in San Diego, Lockheed Martin said.
The USS Independence (LCS-2), being built by General Dynamics [GD] and Austal USA, in Mobile, Ala., was launched at the end of April. Sea trials are expected to begin on the all-aluminum hull trimaran later this year, according to Austal.
Lockheed Martin is building a semi-planing monohull. Freedom was launched in September 2006.
General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin are competing for a Navy contract to build a total of 55 LCS. The Navy is expected to hold a fly-off between the two companies, followed by contract award, in 2010.
Earlier this summer both companies submitted bids to build the next three ships, LCS-5 through -7. The Navy is expected to award a contract to one or both shipbuilders in the coming months to build one LCS in FY ’08 and two in FY ’09.
LCS-3, Lockheed Martin’s second ship, and LCS-4, General Dynamics’ second ship, were both canceled by the Navy after the companies and the service failed to reach terms on a modified fixed-price incentive contract (Defense Daily, April 11, Nov. 2, 2007).
In January 2007, the Navy acknowledged that Freedom had registered “considerable” cost overruns (Defense Daily, Jan. 12, 2007). Within a year, the Navy began to see similar cost issues occurring with Independence.
In May of that year, the Navy asked Congress to raise the cost caps on LCS from $220 million to $460 million on the fifth and sixth ships.
While those cost caps have remained in place since spring 2007, lawmakers this session have said the caps may need adjusting again. Just how high the caps could be increased, however, has yet to be discussed.
Both shipbuilders had to submit bids on LCS-5 through -7 that not only included the cost caps, but bound the companies to fixed-price contracts.
Earlier this month, the United States received a $1.9 billion Foreign Military Sales (FMS) order from Israel for four LCS-I, international variants, of either the General Dynamics or Lockheed Martin ships.
In February 2006, Lockheed Martin received an initial contract from the Israeli Navy to perform the feasibility study for a multi-mission LCS variant.
The study was completed in April 2007.
In August, the Israeli Defense Forces awarded the follow-on combat systems study to Lockheed Martin (Defense Daily, Nov. 15, 2007).
Last November, Lockheed Martin was awarded a $2.3 million FMS contract to continue concept and preliminary design work on the proposed Israeli Navy’s LCS- I (Defense Daily, Nov. 15, 2007).