The latest Littoral Combat Ship, Fort Worth (LCS 3), successfully conducted its Navy acceptance trials April 28 through May 4 on Lake Michigan. The trials featured a successful four-hour, full-power run and surface and air detect-to-engage demonstrations of the ship’s combat management system.

The eyes of Texas – and the U.S. Navy – were upon the nation’s third littoral combat ship recently, and they liked what they saw from the future USS Fort Worth.

Designed and built by a Lockheed Martin-led industry team, Fort Worth (LCS 3) successfully concluded its four-day Navy acceptance trials May 4 on Lake Michigan. During the trials, the Navy conducted comprehensive tests intended to demonstrate the performance of the propulsion plant, ship handling and auxiliary systems.

“Fort Worth performed extremely well during its trials,” said LCS Program Manager Capt. John Neagley. “The ship’s level of completion coupled with Marinette Marine’s excellent craftsmanship resulted in relatively few material deficiencies.”

Acceptance trials are the last significant milestone before delivery of the ship to the Navy. The ship was presented to the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) with high levels of completion, according to the Navy.

Built at the Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin and christened last December, Fort Worth is the second Freedom-variant ship in the LCS program and is now 99 percent complete. The Navy is scheduled to take delivery this summer. Naval architect Gibbs & Cox, as well as domestic and international teammates are also on the Lockheed Martin-led team.

“This is a tremendous program milestone for the program, and a testament to Lockheed Martin’s commitment to meeting milestones and delivering on time, on budget,” said Joe North, vice president of littoral ship systems for Lockheed Martin. “It’s critically important that we remain focused on performance, especially in today’s environment.”

The Freedom variant’s production line is shifting into high gear. The team has begun construction on the Milwaukee (LCS 5) and Detroit (LCS 7). Little Rock (LCS 9) and Sioux City (LCS 11) were awarded in March 2012 and the industry team is in the process of procuring long-lead materials for their construction. The team delivered the USS Freedom, the nation’s first LCS, to the fleet in only six years from initial concept, half the time of traditional shipbuilding programs.

The Freedom variant’s design provides outstanding maneuverability with proven sea-keeping characteristics and innovative design features to support launch and recovery operations of manned and unmanned vehicles.  Reaching speeds of more than 40 knots, the highly automated and networked surface combatant’s flexibility enables it to execute mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, maritime interdiction and humanitarian/disaster relief missions.

The future USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) successfully completed acceptance trials May 4, testing the ship's major systems and equipment in port and underway in Lake Michigan.

MARINETTE, Wis., May 7, 2012 – The nation’s third Littoral Combat Ship, USS Fort Worth (LCS 3), successfully completed its U.S. Navy acceptance trials and will be delivered to the Navy this summer.

Fort Worth is the second surface combatant designed and built by a Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT]-led industry team. The trials, conducted in Lake Michigan from April 30 to May 4, included a four-hour full-power run and both surface and air detect-to-engage demonstrations of the ship’s combat management system.  Major systems and features were demonstrated, including aviation support, small boat launch handling and recovery, and ride control.

“Fort Worth performed extremely well during its trials,” said LCS Program Manager Capt. John Neagley. “The ship’s level of completion coupled with Marinette Marine’s excellent craftsmanship resulted in relatively few material deficiencies.”

“Lessons learned from our lead ship, USS Freedom, have directly contributed to the successful Acceptance Trials of our second ship,” said Joe North, vice president of Littoral Ship Systems at Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems & Sensors business. “As we continue serial production, we’re reducing costs and building these high-quality ships faster.”

Other Freedom-variant LCSs include USS Freedom (LCS 1), which is being prepared for her second deployment; Milwaukee (LCS 5), and Detroit (LCS 7), which are under construction. The team also is currently in the early stages of planning and material procurement for Little Rock (LCS 9) and Sioux City (LCS 11), which were funded in March 2012.

The Lockheed Martin-led LCS team includes ship builder Marinette Marine Corporation, a Fincantieri company, naval architect Gibbs & Cox, as well as domestic and international teammates.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 123,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s net sales for 2011 were $46.5 billion.

For the nation’s third Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), it’s two down and one to go

During the recent round two of LCS 3’s builder’s trials on Lake Michigan, the Lockheed Martin-team successfully conducted comprehensive tests of the Fort Worth’s propulsion plant, ship handling and auxiliary systems.

Following on the heels of October’s successful initial builder’s trials, the future USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) successfully completed round two on April 4 in Lake Michigan. Built on time and on budget by a Lockheed Martin-led team at the Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin, LCS 3 will undergo Navy acceptance trials in late April/early May in advance of its scheduled summer delivery.

“This was a great opportunity to test and operate all our shipboard systems,” said Captain John Neagley, the Navy’s LCS program manager. “The Navy and industry team have done a great job preparing the ship for builders trials. We look forward to presenting this ship to INSURV during acceptance trials.”

During the two-day trial, the Lockheed Martin-team conducted comprehensive tests of the Fort Worth’s propulsion plant, ship handling and auxiliary systems.

A fast, agile, focused-mission ship, LCS is designed to defeat asymmetric “anti-access” threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft. The Lockheed Martin team is building the LCS’s Freedom variant.

The team built the nation’s first LCS – the USS Freedom – and delivered it to the Navy in 2008. Freedom went to sea two years ahead of schedule and is currently preparing for her next deployment.

Construction of the next two Freedom variants – the Milwaukee (LCS 5) and the Detroit (LCS 7) is underway at Marinette Marine. In March, the Navy issued Lockheed Martin a $715 million contract modification to build two more LCSs – the Little Rock (LCS 9) and the Sioux City (LCS 11). The $357.5 million average cost for those two ships is well below the $480 million congressional cost cap.

In addition to Marinette Marine, the Lockheed Martin team consists of naval architect Gibbs & Cox and other domestic and international suppliers, including ArcelorMittal, BAE Systems, DRS Technologies, Fairbanks Morse Engine, Oldenburg, Rolls Royce, RENK and Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine among others.