The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of future USS Detroit (LCS 7) during a ceremony at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard, Aug. 12.
Detroit is the eighth littoral combat ship (LCS) to be delivered to the Navy and the fourth Freedom variant to join the fleet.
Delivery marks the official transfer of LCS 7 from the shipbuilder, part of a Lockheed Martin-led team, to the Navy. It is the final milestone prior to commissioning, which is planned for October in the ship’s namesake city, Detroit.
“Today marks a significant milestone in the life of the future USS Detroit, an exceptional ship which will conduct anti-submarine, surface and mine countermeasures operations around the globe with ever-increasing mission package capability,” said LCS Program Manager Capt. Tom Anderson . “I look forward to seeing Detroit join her sister ship USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) this fall.”
Capt. Warren R. Buller II , commander, LCS Squadron (COMLCSRON) 1, welcomed Detroit to the fleet.
“We are pleased to receive the future USS Detroit into the LCS class,” Buller said. “Detroit will be the sixth ship in the U.S. Navy honored to carry the name of this great American city, and will soon be joining her sister littoral combat ships operating with the fleet in critical missions around the globe.”
Several more ships of the variant are under construction at Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wisconsin. Future USS Little Rock (LCS 9) is preparing for trials in 2016. Future USS Sioux City (LCS 11) was christened in January and is currently conducting system testing in preparation for trials in 2017.
Future USS Wichita (LCS 13) is preparing for launch this fall, while future USS Billings (LCS 15) had her keel laid November 2015. Indianapolis (LCS 17) started fabrication August 2015 and is preparing to have her keel laid this summer.
Additional ships in the pre-production phase include St. Louis (LCS 19), Minneapolis-St. Paul (LCS 21), Cooperstown (LCS 23) and the unnamed LCS 25.
The LCS class consists of the Freedom variant and Independence variant, designed and built by two industry teams. The Freedom variant team is led by Lockheed Martin for odd-numbered hulls, e.g. LCS 1. The Independence variant team is led by Austal USA, for LCS 6 and follow-on even-numbered hulls. There are 12 ships currently under construction purchased under the Navy’s 22 ship block-buy acquisition strategy.
The Lockheed Martin-led LCS team is comprised of shipbuilder Fincantieri Marinette Marine, naval architect Gibbs & Cox, and more than 500 suppliers in 37 states, according to Lockheed Martin.