Money magazine ranked it one of the best places to live. Site Selection tabbed Sioux City as one of the top economic development communities of its size. And Forbes named it one of the best small places for business and careers.

The Iowa city of 83,000 recorded another honor on Feb. 15 when Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced that one of the Navy’s new Littoral Combat Ships (LCS 11) will be named the USS Sioux City.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus recently announced the name of LCS 11 – the USS Sioux City – a Freedom variant LCS. A Lockheed Martin-led team is building the Freedom variants at the Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin.

“This is a wonderful tribute to the people of Sioux City and the historical commitment of all those in Siouxland to the defense and security of the United States,” said U.S. Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa. “Littoral combat ships are described as a major part of the future of the Navy, so it’s fitting to name one for a city that is on the move and forward looking.”

The Sioux City will be a Freedom variant LCS. A Lockheed Martin-led team is building the Freedom variants at the Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin. Naval architect Gibbs & Cox rounds out the team, along with other domestic and international suppliers such as BAE, DRS, EADS, Fairbanks Morse, RENK and Rolls Royce.
Designed to defeat growing littoral threats, the LCS provides access and dominance in coastal waters. The Freedom variant features a semi-planing, steel monohull that offers outstanding agility and high-speed maneuverability.

Lockheed Martin built the nation’s first LCS – the USS Freedom – and delivered it in 2008. The Navy deployed the ship two years early in 2010. Work on the team’s second LCS – the future USS Fort Worth – is on budget, on time and 99 percent complete. The ship will undergo Navy acceptance trials this spring. Construction of the next two Freedom variants is underway at Marinette Marine.
Mabus also named LCS 12, USS Omaha, which will be developed by a team from Austal.

“I chose the name for our two new littoral combat ships after Midwestern cities from America’s heartland, to honor the patriotic, hard-working citizens of Sioux City, Iowa, and Omaha, Neb., for their support of and contributions to the military,” Mabus said.

Work on the Lockheed Martin’s second LCS – the future USS Fort Worth – is on budget, on time and 98 percent complete. The ship is scheduled to undergo Navy acceptance trials this spring.

President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta unveiled the new military strategy for the United States on Jan. 5. A week later, the Navy gave some insight into how it will implement that new strategy.

In a speech at the 24th annual Surface Navy Association’s National Symposium Jan. 10, Rear Adm. Thomas Rowden, director of the service’s surface warfare division, said the Navy plans an “aggressive fielding” strategy for the Littoral Combat Ship.

Adding the ships to the fleet faster will enable the Navy to increase its presence in key areas such as the South China Sea and the Persian Gulf. At the same time, the multi-mission LCS will help the U.S. build relationships with the nation’s existing and potential allies in those regions, Rowden said.

Lockheed Martin is doing its part to assist the Navy in getting the ships to the fleet faster. The Lockheed Martin led team built the nation’s first LCS – the USS Freedom – and delivered it to the Navy in late 2008. Freedom went to sea on its first deployment in 2010 – two years ahead of schedule.

Work on the team’s second LCS – the future USS Fort Worth – is on budget, on time and 98 percent complete. The ship is scheduled to undergo Navy acceptance trials this spring. Construction of the next two Freedom variant ships is underway at the team’s Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin.

According to Joe North, vice president for Lockheed Martin’s Littoral Ship Systems, during a SNA briefing, construction began on LCS 5 – the Milwaukee – in August and 17 of its 46 modules are now being built, while work on three of the 46 modules for LCS 7 – the team’s fourth ship – has started.

For more information about Lockheed Martin’s SNA briefings, including the latest on the K-MAX unmanned cargo helicopter, the MH-60R maritime helicopter and the Remote Minehunting System, click on our Tumblr page.

To keep the sea lanes open, the U.S. Navy is developing a Remote Minehunting System (RMS) for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) centered on Lockheed Martin’s Remote Multi-Mission Vehicle (RMMV), shown above. Photo courtesy U.S. Navy.

Mines can wreak havoc on naval vessels and bring maritime commerce to a full stop.

To keep the sea lanes open, the U.S. Navy is developing a Remote Minehunting System (RMS) for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) centered on Lockheed Martin’s Remote Multi-Mission Vehicle (RMMV). The RMS recently achieved a major milestone, completing the first phase of reliability testing that included 500 hours of mission testing during 33 missions over a five-month period.

“Initial analysis of the data indicates that we have met or surpassed all testing and program objectives and we obtained the required data needed to proceed to the next phase,” said Steve Lose, program manager for the Navy’s RMS Program, in a December 15 news release.

As a critical component of the LCS’s mine countermeasures mission package, RMS will provide an off-board mine reconnaissance capability that conducts rapid reconnaissance of bottom and moored mines from deep water to shallow coastal, harbor and riverine areas. The RMS will aid in locating mines and help identify safe routes or operating areas around potential minefields.

Conducted off the Florida coast and completed ahead of schedule, the testing concluded the first of three planned development and testing cycles designed to improve system reliability and operations. The next phase of testing is scheduled for next year. The RMS is an integral part of ongoing LCS mine countermeasures mission package developmental testing set for 2012.

The RMS is composed of Lockheed Martin’s RMMV, its launch-and-retrieval system, the towed sonar sensor and advanced communications equipment and software. An unmanned, semi-submersible, semi-autonomous vehicle, the RMMV tows the variable-depth sensor that detects and identifies undersea threats. The high endurance, low-visibility RMS will be operated and maintained from the LCS.

A Lockheed Martin led team is building the LCS Freedom variant. The team recently began construction of its third LCS, the future USS Milwaukee. The USS Freedom – the nation’s first LCS – is currently deployed with the fleet, while LCS 3 completed successful Builder’s Trials in November. RMS will go on both the LCS Freedom-variant and Independence-variant.