Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus meets with sailors assigned to USS Freedom during a trip to Southeast Asia.

Designed to defeat threats and dominate in coastal waters, it’s only fitting for the nation’s first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) – USS Freedom – to participate in an exhibition with the theme of “Safe, Secure Sea: Strengthening Cooperation in Maritime Security.”

Held May 14-16 in Singapore, the International Maritime Defence Exhibition & Conference (IMDEX) showcased 15 warships from nine countries, and for the first time, visitors were able to see USS Freedom. Visitors toured Freedom and had the opportunity to experience on-board operations.

“USS Freedom was tailor-made for this area,” said Navy Secretary Ray Mabus from the flight deck of Freedom on May 11.

Also on hand was Rear Admiral Tom Carney, Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific, who said, “USS Freedom’s deployment reflects the United States’ enduring commitment to stability and security in the Indo-Asia Pacific.”

Freedom arrived in Singapore April 18 as part of its 10-month deployment to Southeast Asia. While in Southeast Asia, Freedom is also expected to participate in select phases of the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training exercise.

Freedom has sailed more than 65,000 nautical miles since 2008, and conducted four successful drug seizures totaling more than five tons of cocaine on its maiden voyage in 2010 prior to this longer-term deployment. USS Fort Worth – commissioned in September – recently completed Final Contractor’s Trials.

The Lockheed Martin-led team is currently building the Milwaukee (LCS 5), Detroit (LCS 7) and Little Rock (LCS 9). Long-lead construction material is being procured for Sioux City (LCS 11), and the Navy awarded contracts to the team for the Wichita (LCS 13) and the to-be-named LCS 15 in March. The team is building the Freedom variants at the Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin.

Check the Lockheed Martin IMDEX website for the latest videos and photos of Freedom’s participation.