LCS 1 Completes Structural Test Firing

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UNITED STATES - 17 JULY 2009

WASHINGTON --- USS Freedom (LCS 1) successfully completed structural test firing (STF) exercises off the coast of Virginia June 25; the STF exercise was held to test the ship's weapon systems to ensure they operate as installed and integrated with the hull structure.

During the week of tests, Freedom fired two Rolling Airframe Missile test rounds, 70 MK 110 57mm gun rounds, 24 chaff rounds and more than 1,000 50-calibre and smaller rounds.

"The successful completion of these live fire events proves the design, construction and integration of these weapon systems on LCS 1," said Capt. Jim Murdoch, LCS program manager with the Navy's Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships. "The fit and function of these systems meets our expectations."
In addition to the ship's crew, the tests were conducted by engineers from Naval Sea Systems Command's Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Port Hueneme's Louisville detachment as well as NSWC Dahlgren.

LCS is a new breed of U.S. Navy warship with versatile warfighting capabilities, capable of open-ocean operation but optimized for littoral, or coastal, missions. Operational experience and analyses indicate that potential adversaries will employ asymmetric means to deny U.S. and allied forces access into critical coastal regions, such as strategic chokepoints and vital economic sea lanes. LCS is specifically designed to defeat such "anti-access" threats, which include fast surface craft, quiet diesel submarines and various types of mines.

LCS 1 began its second industrial post-delivery availability July 8 at Colonna's Shipyard in Norfolk. This availability is a planned event in Freedom's post-delivery period to provide for the correction of problems discovered during test and trials events conducted so far. The post delivery test and trials period is intended to fully examine the ship's installed systems' performance and allow the ship's crew to become familiar with and exercise the ship's systems.

PEO Ships is responsible for the development and acquisition of U.S. Navy surface ships and is currently managing the design and construction of a wide range of ship classes and small boats and craft. These platforms range from major warships such as frontline surface combatants and amphibious assault ships to air-cushioned landing craft, oceanographic research ships and special warfare craft. PEO Ships has delivered 32 major warships and hundreds of small boats and craft from more than 30 shipyards and boat builders across the United States.

USS Freedom (LCS 1, U.S. Navy)

 

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Some Problems for U.S. Navy's LCS 2 On Trials


The U.S. Navy's littoral combat ship Independence hit a speed of 43 knots on its builder's trials while running at less than full power, but problems with its propulsion plant mean it has to sail again for at least a second set of tests, its shipbuilder announced July 24.

The Navy's second littoral combat ship, an aluminum trimaran built by a contractor team helmed by General Dynamics, has been taking trips to sea and back from its shipyard at Mobile, Ala., as engineers have tested many of its engines and systems.

Like the first LCS, the Lockheed Martin-built Freedom, the Independence has a combined diesel and gas propulsion plant - Independence was running both its diesels and turbines, but not to their limits, when the ship reached its high trials speed.

But the ship had engineering problems that delayed the start of its trials by three days, and other problems underway have kept it from making a true full power run.

"During the build-up to full power testing, we experienced a leak in the port gas turbine shaft seal, which we're now troubleshooting in order to determine the best course for corrective action," said Jeff Geiger, president of GD's Bath Iron Works shipyard, in a statement.

"We've determined that the best path forward is to resequence the remaining trial events while we continue other work necessary to ready the ship for Navy acceptance trials later this summer. An additional underway period will be conducted before acceptance trials to validate the shaft seal solution and other production work. The Navy supports this approach and we do not expect that this adjustment will affect the planned delivery of the ship later this year."

The current schedule calls for the Independence to be commissioned this fall, although both LCS models are also more than a year behind schedule and more than 100 percent over-budget. U.S. Navy budget documents for fiscal 2010 put the cost for Independence at about $704 million and for Freedom at about $637 million, compared to projected cost of about $220 million for each.