The USS Coronado (LCS-4) completed a round of test firing the 30mm guns that are part of the surface warfare package for the Littoral Combat Ships, the Navy recently announced.
The Coronado became the first of the Independence variant of the ship class to test the two 30mm guns. The testing is aimed a gauging the ship’s structural ability to absorb the blast that comes with firing the guns. The Freedom variant of the LCS has already undergone that aspect of the surface module testing.
“Tested and proven on the LCS Freedom variant, this structural test firing marks the first critical step in demonstrating the surface warfare mission package capability on the LCS Independence variant,” Rear Adm. John Ailes, LCS Mission Modules program manager, said in a statement Thursday.
The tests took place Apr. 30 off the coast of southern California and were followed a day later by multiple track testing.
“The STF and initial tracking exercises prepare the ship and train the crews for more complex surface warfare tracking and live fire exercises scheduled to begin summer 2014, which will culminate in initial operational test and evaluation in 2015,” Ailes said.
The 30 mm guns have completed initial operational test and evaluation for the Freedom variants, which so far include the USS Freedom (LCS-1) and USS Fort Worth (LCS-3). The Coronado is the second of the Independence variants. The USS Independence (LCS-2) has been mostly used for testing of the mine countermeasure mission module.