The 19th littoral combat ship, the future USS St. Louis, launches sideways into the Menominee River in Marinette, Wisconsin, on Dec. 15.
COURTESY LOCKHEED MARTIN
IN THIS ARTICLE
By Robert J. Terry – Senior Staff Reporter, Washington Business Journal
Dec 17, 2018, 12:07am EST
A shipbuilding team led by Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin launched its littoral combat ship 19 into the Menominee River in Wisconsin over the weekend.
The so-called sideways launch, at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine Shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin, is something that needs to be seen to be believed so here’s video of it.
LCS 19, the future USS St. Louis, is the second littoral combat ship christened and launched by Lockheed (NYSE: LMT) this year. The world’s largest defense contractor said last week the future USS Billings, currently known as LCS 15, had completed acceptance trials in Lake Michigan, making it the third littoral combat ship taken through sea trials this year. That includes a full-power run, maneuverability testing and surface and air detect-to-engage demonstrations of the ship's combat system.
With the launch, LCS 19 will now be readied for testing, trials and delivery to the U.S. Navy. The LCS program was created by the Navy to deliver affordable ships that are small enough to make their way into shallow waters and maneuver in tight spots. To pull that off, Lockheed designed a ship with a modular design, meaning the Navy can quickly swap out technology systems instead of taking the ship out of commission for six months to a year to rip and replace.
Along with being highly maneuverable and lethal, the ship is designed to support mine countermeasures, antisubmarine warfare and surface warfare missions. The littoral zone is the part of a sea, lake or river that is close to the shore.
A team led by Lockheed (NYSE: LMT) and shipbuilder Fincantieri Marinette Marine, which operates three Great Lakes shipyards, designs and builds the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship. Austal builds the Independence-class variant. Lockheed’s ships are denoted by odd numbers while Austal’s feature even numbers.
Lockheed Martin is in full-rate LCS production and has delivered seven ships to the U.S. Navy. There are seven ships in various stages of production and test at Fincantieri Marinette Marine.
This year, construction started on two ships while two have been delivered, sea trials have been completed for three ships and one delivered ship was commissioned.
LCS 13, the future USS Wichita, is slated for commissioning in Mayport, Florida, on Jan. 12.
If you want more footage of the sideways launch, here’s a link to almost four minutes of B-roll footage Lockheed shot.