The Lockheed Martin LCS team is progressing in the construction of the nation’s third Littoral Combat Ship, Fort Worth (LCS 3).

Fort Worth is on track for delivery to the U.S. Navy in 2012. To date, the ship is 40 percent complete, with all of the ship’s modules under construction at the Marinette Marine shipyard. By applying lessons from building LCS 1, the USS Freedom, the team has reduced labor costs on LCS 3.

Earlier this year, the team completed a key milestone with the landing of the vessel’s two main propulsion diesel engines.

“We continue to make great progress building Fort Worth,” said Dan Schultz, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s Ship and Aviation Systems business, following the landing of the engines. “Applying lessons learned from building USS Freedom, the Lockheed Martin team invested millions of dollars to improve production efficiencies, including the installation and use of higher-capacity, higher-efficiency overhead cranes, plasma-cutting tables and pipe-bending machines. Marinette Marine Corporation is a quality shipbuilder that puts their heart and soul into this ship, and it really shows.”

Fort Worth (LCS 3) is the third of 55 the Navy plans for a new class of ships designed to operate in coastal waters. The first ship, USS Freedom (LCS 1) was also built by the Lockheed Martin team. Her capabilities have been demonstrated since the ship was delivered to the U.S. Navy in 2008. She has sailed more than 12,000 nm, successfully completed sea trials, helicopter landings and certification, ship handling/refueling, weapons firings and certifications, combat system and exterior/interior communications, small boat launch and recovery and Surface Warfare mission-package testing.

Updated April 16, 2010.

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