Keel laid for 25th US Navy littoral combat ship Marinette (LCS 25)

Fincantieri Marinette Marine has hosted a keel-laying ceremony for the US Navy’s future littoral combat ship USS Marinette (LCS 25).

During a March 27 ceremony in which the beginning of the ship’s construction was formally marked, the ship’s sponsor Jennifer Granholm, former governor of Michigan, had her initials welded into the ship’s keel plate.

LCS 25 will be the first US Navy ship to bear the name Marinette, and is named to recognize the town’s significant contributions to navy shipbuilding.

Fincantieri Marinette Marine began operations in 1942 to provide US ships for World War II. Marinette is the birthplace of Lockheed Martin’s Freedom-variant LCS, which Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine have partnered to produce for more than 16 years.

LCS 25 will be the 13th Freedom-variant LCS, and will join a class of more than 30 ships. She is one of seven ships in various stages of construction and test at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard.

The LCS are flexible, with 40 percent of the hull reconfigurable, standard equipped with Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) and a Mark 110 gun.

The LCS class consists of two variants, the Freedom variant and the Independence variant, designed and built by two industry teams. The Freedom variant team is led by Lockheed Martin and the Independence variant is led by Austal USA.