Independence class Littoral Combat Ship - LCS
The Independence class design began life at Austal as a platform for a high speed cruise ship. The principal requirements of that project were speed, stability and passenger comfort and Austal's team determined that the trimaran hull form offered significant passenger comfort and stability advantages over both a catamaran and a monohull. The high speed cruise ship project evolved into Austal's commercial high-speed trimaran ferry Benchijigua Express. The standard ship's company is 40-strong, although this can increase depending on the ship's role with mission-specific personnel. The habitability area is located under the bridge where bunks for ships personnel are situated. The helm is controlled by joysticks instead of traditional steering wheels. Although the trimaran hull increases the total surface area, it is still able to reach sustainable speeds of about 50 knots (93 km/h; 58 mph), with a range of 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi). Austal claims that the design will use a third less fuel than the competing Freedom-class, but the Congressional Budget Office found that fuel would account for 18 percent or less of the total lifetime cost of Freedom. Modular mission capability: The Independence class carries a default armament for self-defense, and command and control. However unlike traditional fighting ships with fixed armament such as guns and missiles, tailored mission modules can be configured for one mission package at a time. Modules may consist of manned aircraft, unmanned vehicles, off-board sensors, or mission-manning detachments. The interior volume and payload is greater than some destroyers and is sufficient to serve as a high-speed transport and maneuver platform. The mission bay is 15,200 square feet (1,410 m2), and takes up most of the deck below the hangar and flight deck. With 11,000 cubic metres (390,000 cu ft) of payload volume, it was designed with enough payload and volume to carry out one mission with a separate mission module in reserve, allowing the ship to do multiple missions without having to be refitted. One Mobicon Flexible Container Handling System is carried on each ship in order to move mission containers. In addition to cargo or container-sized mission modules, the bay can carry four lanes of multiple Strykers, armored Humvees, and their associated troops. An elevator allows air transport of packages the size of a 20-foot-long (6.1 m) shipping container that can be moved into the mission bay while at sea. A side access ramp allows for vehicle roll-on/roll-off loading to a dock and allows the ship to transport the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. Armament and sensors: The Raytheon SeaRAM missile defense system is installed on the hangar roof. The SeaRAM combines the sensors of the Phalanx 1B close-in weapon system with an 11-missile launcher for the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM), creating an autonomous system. The Independence class ships also has an integrated LOS Mast, Sea Giraffe 3D Radar and SeaStar Safire FLIR. Northrop Grumman has demonstrated sensor fusion of on and off-board systems in the Integrated Combat Management System (ICMS) used on the LCS. Side and forward surfaces are angled for reduced radar profile. In addition, H-60 series helicopters provide airlift, rescue, anti-submarine, radar picket and anti-ship capabilities with torpedoes and missiles. The flight deck, 1,030 m2 (11,100 sq ft), can support the operation of two SH-60 Seahawk helicopters, multiple unmanned aerial vehicles, or one CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter. The trimaran hull will allow flight operations up to sea state 5. The Fleet-class USV is designed for opertions from Independence class ships. The vessels have an Interior Communications Center that can be curtained off from the rest of bridge instead of the heavily protected Combat Information Center found on Navy warships. source: wikipedia
Ships:
Units			in service	Builder
LCS 2 USS Independence			2010	Austal USA, Mobile, Alabama (General Dynamics LCS Team)
LCS 4 USS Coronado			2013?	Austal USA, Mobile, Alabama
LCS 6 USS Jackson			?	Austal USA, Mobile, Alabama
LCS 8 USS Montgomery			?	Austal USA, Mobile, Alabama
LCS 10 USS Gabrielle Giffords			?	Austal USA, Mobile, Alabama
LCS 12 USS Omaha			?	Austal USA, Mobile, Alabama
LCS 14 USS Manchester			?	Austal USA, Mobile, Alabama
Specifications:
Displacement:	2176 tons (light) / 2784 tons (full load)
Length:	127,40 meters
Beam:	31,60 meters
Draft:	3,96 meters
Max Speed:	44+ knots (= 81+ km/h)
Propulsion:	2 x General Electric LM2500 gas turbines 2 x MTU diesel engines 4 x Wartsila steerable waterjets 1 x retractable, bow-mounted azimuth-thruster
Aviation:	2 x MH-60R/S helicopters and/or multiple UAV’s flight deck: 1030 sqm (11800 sqft)
Range :	cruise: 4500 nm (8300 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h) sprint: 1500 nm (2800 km) at 36 knots (67 km/h)
Complement:	40 core crew / + up to 35 mission-crew
Armament:	1 x Mk-110 57mm gun weapon system 1 x Mk-15 Mod.31 SeaRAM CIWS for RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) & various mission modules (Mine Warfare, Anti-Submarine, Surface Warfare): - Mk-46 30mm gun weapon system - RIM-162 ESSM missiles in VLS module (32 missiles) - RGM-84 Harpoon SSM (8 missiles) - Torpedoes - Mk-15 CIWS - Griffin-B missiles
Armament:
class images: (General Dynamics photos via NNS)
- - - US Navy photos
| seaforces.org | USN ships start page |