Lockheed Martin to support USS Milwaukee full ship shock trials

The U.S. Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training $10.86 million for full ship shock trials support (FSST) for the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee (LCS-5).

Under the contract, Lockheed Martin is to provide emergent availability planning and execution and test and trials for full ship shock trials support (FSST).

Lockheed Martin will be in charge of advance planning and accomplishment in support of in-between shot repairs during the FSST event; and the FSST repair period including work specifications and execution to correct damage sustained during the FSST event and FSST instrumentation removal.

The company will be providing support for the trials in Mayport, Baltimore, New York and Marinette, and is expected to be completed by December 2016.

USS Milwaukee was launched December 18, 2013 and commissioned November 21, 2015.

LCS 5 was not off to a good start as it had to be towed to port after breaking down at sea during an Atlantic Ocean transit in December 2015. The ship was approximately 40 nautical miles off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia, when it experienced a loss of propulsion.

USNS Grapple towed Milwaukee to JEB Little Creek-Fort Story where it spent some two months undergoing initial engineering repairs on her propulsion system. On February 19, 2016, Milwaukee arrived at the BAE Systems shipyard in Florida where it entered a maintenance period to prepare for the shock trials.