USN orders second Littoral Combat Ship

From Defense Aerospace

Pentagon Contract Announcement

(Source: US Department of Defense; issued Oct. 14, 2005)

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, is being awarded a $223,262,430 cost-plus-award-fee/incentive-fee modification to exercise an option under previously awarded contract (N00024-03-C-2310) for detail design and construction of one Flight 0 Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).

The LCS will be a networked, agile, and high-speed surface combatant with versatile war-fighting capabilities, optimized for littoral missions.

Work will be performed in Mobile, Ala. (50 percent), Pittsfield, Mass. (33 percent), Bath, Maine (15 percent), and Baltimore, Md. (2 percent), and are expected to be completed by October 2007. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (ends)

Navy Awards Contract for LCS Construction

(Source: US Naval Sea Systems Command; issued Oct. 14, 2005)

The Navy has awarded General Dynamics – Bath Iron Works today a $223,262,430 option exercise contract modification for detailed design and construction of the second Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).

“This contract award is a testament to the strong resolve of both the Navy and industry to get these highly capable ships into the water as quickly as possible,” said RADM Charlie Hamilton, the Program Executive Officer for Ships. “LCS will introduce unprecedented speed, agility and flexibility into the littoral battlespace. The rapid acquisition of these modular warships sets a new standard for procurement in support of the warfighter.”

The General Dynamics team will begin construction in October and ship delivery is scheduled for 2007.

The Navy plans to build four Flight 0 LCS. The Navy has an option to build another from General Dynamics. Under a separate contract, Lockheed Martin will also build up to two of its LCS variant.

General Dynamics – Bath Iron Works is the prime contractor. Major subcontractors who will perform part of the effort include Austal USA, in Mobile, AL; Maritime Applied Physics Corporation (MAPC) in Baltimore, MD; General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems (AIS) in Pittsfield, MA; and BAE in Baltimore, MD.

LCS is an innovative combatant designed to combat challenging shallow-water threats in coastal regions, specifically mines, diesel submarines and fast surface craft. Operational experience and analyses indicate that potential adversaries will employ these kinds of “asymmetric capabilities” to attempt to deny U.S. and allied forces access in critical regions to include strategic chokepoints and vital economic sea lanes.

A fast, agile, and networked surface combatant, LCS will utilize focused-mission packages that deploy manned and unmanned vehicles to execute a variety of missions. The ships are being designed with flexibility to accommodate current and future generations of helicopters and unmanned air, surface and sub-surface vehicles. The ships’ modular, focused-mission design will provide Combatant Commanders the required warfighting capabilities and operational flexibility to ensure maritime dominance and access for the joint force.

LCS will also perform Special Operations Forces (SOF) support, high-speed transit, Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO), Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), and Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection (AT/FP). While complementing capabilities of the Navy’s larger multi-mission surface combatants, LCS will also be networked to share tactical information with other Navy aircraft, ships, submarines, and joint units.

LCS will be able to deploy independently and remain on station for extended periods. They will also operate with Carrier Strike Groups, Expeditionary Strike Group or in LCS squadrons.