VIDEO: LCS 19 completes Acceptance Trials

LCS 19: One of the Freedom-class littoral combat ships equipped with FMD engines ((mage: Lockheed Martin)

Lockheed Martin reports that Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 19, the future USS St. Louis, has completed Acceptance Trials in Lake Michigan. Now that trials are complete, the ship will undergo final outfitting and fine-tuning before delivery.

LCS 19 is the tenth Freedom-variant LCS designed and built by the Lockheed Martin led industry team that includes shipbuilder Fincantieri Marinette Marine, naval architect Gibbs & Cox, and more than 500 suppliers in 37 states.L

“The LCS fleet is growing in numbers and capability, and LCS 19’s completion of acceptance trials means the Navy will shortly have 10 Freedom-variant fast, focused-mission ships in the fleet,” said Joe DePietro, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager, Small Combatants and Ship Systems. “As each Freedom-variant hull deploys, we seek out and incorporate fleet feedback and lessons learned to roll in capabilities for new hulls. As a result, LCS 19 includes a solid-state radar, upgraded communications suite, increased self-defense capabilities and topside optimization, among other updates.”

“Progress on the Freedom-variant program and LCS 19’s achievement would not be possible without the expertise and effort of our shipbuilders at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, and our strong partnership with Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy,” said Jan Allman, Fincantieri Marinette Marine president and CEO. “We are dedicated to delivering an effective, capable product to our armed forces.”