PEO ships reports that the Navy has now accepted delivery of the future USS Marinette (LCS 25) from Lockheed Martin at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette, Wis.
The ship is a Freedom variant littoral combat ship, Earlier ships in the class suffered mechanical issues that led the Pentagon to seek to decommission eight of them in its FY 2023 budget request, even though they averaged only four years old, saying that the move would save $4.3 billion.
Intense lobbying efforts, detailed in a recent New York Times story, saved four of the eight ships from being decommissioned.
The Freedom-variant ships have a CODAG (combined diesel and gas turbine) propulsion systems with steerable water jets and the problems arose with the combining gear that links the diesel and gas turbine unit.
PEO ships says LCS 25 is “outfitted with the combining gear correction that will allow for unrestricted operations. The correction addresses a class-wide flaw that was identified as the Fleet deployed these ships in greater numbers.”
“Today marks a significant milestone in the life of the future USS Marinette,” said Capt. Andy Gold, LCS program manager. “I look forward to the commissioning of Marinette later this year and recognizing the contribution of her namesake town and the great shipbuilders who bring these warships to life, ensuring they are ready to accomplish mission tasking in support of our nation’s maritime strategy.”
The ship successfully completed her acceptance trial in November 2022, which is the last milestone before the ship is delivered to the Navy. During the trial, the Navy conducted comprehensive tests of LCS 25’s systems, which spanned multiple functional areas essential to a ship being able to perform at sea — including main propulsion and auxiliaries and electrical systems. The ship also performed demonstrations of its operational capabilities, including a full power demonstration, steering and quick reversal, anchor drop test, and combat system detect-to-engage sequence. As a result of these successful trials, the Navy accepted delivery and will continue post-delivery certifications and qualifications to ready her for Fleet operations.
After her commissioning, planned for June 2023, Marinette will be homeported in Mayport, Fla.
Three more Freedom-variant ships are under construction at Fincantieri Marinette. The future USS Nantucket (LCS 27) is scheduled for delivery in the summer of 2023. Additional ships in various stages of construction include the future ships USS Beloit (LCS 29) and USS Cleveland (LCS 31). LCS 31 will be the final Freedom-variant LCS.
