Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship

The littoral combat ship USS Independence (LCS-02) underway during builder's trials.

The Independence-class is a class of littoral combat ships built for the United States Navy.

The hull design evolved from a project at Austal to design a 40 knot (74.08 km/h) cruise ship. That hull design evolved into the high-speed trimaran ferry HSC Benchijigua Express and the Independence-class was then proposed by General Dynamics and Austal as a contender for Navy plans to build a fleet of small, multipurpose warships to operate in the littoral zone. Two ships were approved, to compete with Lockheed Martin's Freedom-class design for a construction contract of up to 64 vessels.

In 2016, the USN began the FFG(X) program to built a frigate to complement the littoral combat ships.

As of May 2018, seven ships have been commissioned. Starting in 2019, ships of this class will be designated as fast frigates (FF) which will include increased firepower and heavier armor.

Specifications

• Type: Littoral Combat Ship (Hull designation symbol LCS)
• Service Period: 2008-Present
• Characteristics:
  • Length: 418 feet (127.41 meters)
  • Beam: 104 feet (31.7 meters)
  • Draft: 14 feet (4.27 meters)
  • Displacement: 3,421.57 tons (Full Load)
• Capacity: 231 tons
• Crew: 75
• Propulsion: 2 MTU Friedrichshafen 20V 8000 Series diesel engines, 2 General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, 2 American VULKAN light weight multiple-section carbon fiber propulsion shaftlines, 2 LJ160E and 2 LJ150E Wärtsilä waterjets, retractable bow-mounted azimuth thruster, 4 diesel generators
• Range: 4,300 nautical miles (7,964 kilometers) at 18 knots (33.34 km/h)
• Speed: 44 knots (81.49 km/h)
• Sensor Suite:
  • SAAB Sea GIRAFFE 3D air and surface search radar
  • Sperry Marine BridgeMaster E navigational radar
  • AN/KAX-2 electro-optical sensor with TV and FLIR
  • Northrop Grumman ICMS (Integrated Combat Management System)
• Countermeasures:
  • ITT Corporation ES-3601 ESM system
  • SRBOC decoy launchers for chaff and infrared decoys x 4
  • BAE Systems NULKA active radar decoy system
• Armament:
  • 1 x 57mm/70-caliber Mk.110 naval gun
  • 24 x RGM-114L Hellfire missiles
  • 2 x Mk.141 SSM Launchers (fires RGM-184 Naval Strike Missile)
  • 2 x 30mm Mk44 Bushmaster II auto-cannons
  • 4 x 12.7mm/90-caliber M2 Browning machine guns
  • 1 x Raytheon SeaRAM CIWS
• Aircraft Carried: 2 x MH-60R/S Seahawk, 1 x MQ-8 Fire Scout

Unit Run

• USS Independence (LCS-02)
• USS Coronado (LCS-04)
• USS Jackson (LCS-06)
• USS Montgomery (LCS-08)
• USS Shreveport (LCS-10)
• USS Omaha (LCS-12)
• USS Manchester (LCS-14)
• USS Tulsa (LCS-16)
• USS Charleston (LCS-18)
• USS Cincinnati (LCS-20)
• USS Kansas City (LCS-22)
• USS Oakland (LCS-24)
• USS Mobile (LCS-26)
• USS Savannah (LCS-28)
• USS Canberra (LCS-30) - fitting out
• USS Santa Barbara (LCS-32) - under construction
• USS Augusta (LCS-34) - under construction
• USS Kingsville (LCS-36) - planned for construction
• USS Pierre (LCS-38) - under construction
• USS Aurora (LCS-40) - planned for construction
• USS Camden (LCS-42) - planned for construction
• USS Santa Monica (LCS-44) - planned for construction
• USS Grand Rapids (LCS-46) - planned for construction
• USS Murfreesboro (LCS-48) - planned for construction
• USS Oregon City (LCS-50) - planned for construction
• USS Salem (LCS-52) - planned for construction
• USS Des Moines (LCS-54) - planned for construction
• USS Rochester (LCS-56) - planned for construction