Littoral Combat Ship 21 Completes Acceptance Trials

U.S. Navy to commission ship in 2021, becoming the 11th "effective and adaptable" LCS in the fleet By DA Staff / 24 Aug 2020

Discover Leading Defense Technology Solutions

Discover cutting-edge solutions from leading global suppliers
SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT
Littoral Combat Ship 21
Follow DA

Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 21, the future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul, completed acceptance trials in Lake Michigan. Trials included a full-power run, maneuverability testing, and surface and air detect-to-engage demonstrations of the ship’s combat system. Major systems and features were demonstrated, including aviation support, small boat launch handling and recovery and machinery control and automation. Now that trials are complete, the ship will undergo final outfitting and fine-tuning before delivery to the U.S. Navy. LCS 21 is the eleventh Freedom-variant LCS designed and built by the Lockheed Martin-led industry team and is slated for delivery to the Navy early next year.

“LCS 21 joins a fleet of sister ships delivering unique flexibility and capability to the U.S. Navy,” said Joe DePietro, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager, Small Combatants and Ship Systems. “Freedom-variant LCS are inherently capable to serve freedom of navigation, drug interdiction and humanitarian missions, and with additional capabilities onboarded, they can serve further focused missions. On LCS 21’s acceptance trials, we successfully tested the ship’s maneuverability, automation and core combat capability.”

The Freedom-variant LCS has completed four successful deployments, including LCS 7 (USS Detroit)’s deployment completed this summer. LCS 7 deployed to the U.S. Southern Command supporting the Martillo campaign – a multinational effort targeting illicit trafficking routes in Central American coastal waters.

Regarding LCS’ capabilities, U.S. Southern Commander Admiral Craig Faller recently stated, “LCS has proven to be an effective and adaptable platform capable of multiple missions in our area of responsibility. It has become an end-game enabler for U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement authorities who disrupt transnational criminal organizations and the smuggling of deadly narcotics. Adding the LCS to our Enhanced Counter Narcotics Operation is helping save lives.”

Unique among combat ships, the focused-mission LCS is designed to support mine countermeasures, anti-submarine and surface warfare missions and is easily adapted to serve future and evolving missions. The Freedom-variant LCS is:

  • Flexible â€” Forty percent of the hull is easily reconfigurable, able to integrate Longbow Hellfire Missiles, 30 mm guns, manned and unmanned vehicles designed to meet today’s and tomorrow’s missions.
  • Lethal â€” LCS is standard equipped with Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) and a Mark 110 gun, capable of firing 220 rounds per minute.
  • Powerful â€” LCS has gas turbines, diesel engines and water jets that together generate 114,000 horsepower making LCS capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots.
  • Automated â€” LCS has the most efficient staffing of any combat ship.

“I am pleased to see another successful acceptance trials on Lake Michigan,” said Jan Allman, CEO of Fincantieri Marinette Marine. “Together with our partners, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy, our proud shipbuilding team puts in long hours to deliver a proven warship for the fleet.” 

Posted by DA Staff Connect & Contact

Latest Articles

C5ISR & the Evolution of Situational Awareness in Defense Operations

Elistair explores how C5ISR integrates command, intelligence, and combat systems to enhance situational awareness and decision-making in modern military operations

Jul 16, 2025
RF Drone Detection Solution Selected for Integration into C-UAS Capability

Metis will supply a NATO consumer with its Skyperion Radio Frequency (RF) drone detection components for defending airspace, infrastructure and installations against rogue drones

Jul 16, 2025
Static Calibration Techniques for Silicon Designs Accelerometers

Learn how to perform quick, accurate static calibration of Silicon Designs MEMS DC accelerometers using only a voltmeter and gravity, no specialized equipment required

Jul 16, 2025
Disasters Expo USA & Resilient City Expo Co-Locating in Houston

Disasters Expo USA and Resilient City Expo will take place on November 5–6, 2025, bringing professionals to Houston to address crisis response and long-term resilience

Jul 15, 2025
General Digital’s Modular Approach to Rugged Display Design

General Digital outlines how its flexible design approach delivers rugged, customer-tailored military displays, rigorously tested in-house even when formal MIL-STD certification is not required

Jul 15, 2025
Precision Underwater Sensing for Critical Naval & Security Missions

Defense Advancement showcases Impact Subsea's underwater sensing technologies for naval and security missions

Jul 15, 2025

Featured Content

Q&A: How Revector Supports Defense with Mobile Intelligence

This Q&A provides insight into Revector’s technology, detailing its role in covert surveillance, threat detection, and integration with defense and security systems

Jul 14, 2025
New Oscilloquartz Optical Cesium Clocks Enhance Network Timing Precision

Adtran is expanding its Oscilloquartz portfolio with the new OSA 3200 SP and OSA 3250 ePRC optical cesium models, providing improved holdover and simplified maintenance for telecom, data center, utility, and defense networks

Jul 09, 2025
Teledyne FLIR OEM Whitepaper: Synthetic Data Generation for AI Object Detection

Read Teledyne FLIR OEM’s whitepaper on AIMMGen™, a defense-oriented synthetic data and AI model generation pipeline tailored to Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) and object classification tasks

Jul 03, 2025
Advancing Defense Capability Through Strategic Collaboration Defense Advancement works with major OEMs to foster collaboration and increase engagement with SMEs, to accelerate innovation and drive defense capabilities forward.