LCS 7 is rolled out of the assembly building for additional work prior to launch.
Littoral combat ship will be named USS Detroit
MEMBERS OF LOCAL 696 reached another milestone October 18 with the launch of the U.S. Navy’s LCS 7 into the Menominee River at the shipyard of Marinette Marine Corporation in Marinette, Wis. Marinette Marine is a subsidiary of Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.
LCS stands for littoral combat ship, a designation for vessels that can operate in coastal seas and shallow water. The ship will now undergo outfitting and testing at Marinette until its expected delivery to the Navy in late 2015, following acceptance trials. LCS 7 will be commissioned the USS Detroit.
L-696 Boilermakers constructed LCS 7 in Marinette Marine’s cavernous assembly building. In late June, the vessel was transferred out of the building via several hydraulic transfer lifts and later raised into position for a sideways launch.
The Navy’s LCS acquisition program includes two distinct ship designs. Ten ships of each design are under contract. The variant built at Marinette Marine, called the Freedom, is a single-hull ship. The second variant, built at a Mobile, Ala., shipyard by Austal USA, is a twin-hull design known as the Independence.
Lockheed Martin is leading the industry team building the Freedom and has delivered LCS 1 and LCS 3 (odd number hulls). General Dynamics, Bath Iron Works leads the Independence industry team and has delivered LCS 2 and LCS 4 (even number hulls). Twelve additional ships are currently under construction out of the 20 ships under contract.
Both LCS variants are designed to be modular and configurable with three types of mission packages: Surface Warfare (SUW), Mine Countermeasures (MCM), and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW).
Photos and video courtesy U.S. Navy/Marinette Marine
