The US Navy accepted delivery of its eighth Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the future USS Billings, at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin on 1 February.
The ship will be commissioned later in 2019.
LCS is a manoeuvrable, lethal and adaptable ship designed to support the US Navy’s mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare missions.
The LCS class consists of two variants, the Freedom variant and the Independence variant, designed and built by Lockheed Martin and Austal USA, respectively.
In 2018, five LCSs were delivered to the fleet, and three are scheduled for delivery in 2019. The future USS Billings is the 17th LCS delivered to the navy.
The expansion of the Redstone facility in Alabama will enable Raytheon to increase production of Standard Missiles in the location by 50% and support Washington in refilling stockpiles after recent operations have depleted the Pentagon’s reserves.
Major naval initiatives including the European Patrol Corvette programmes and Norway’s UK partnership-focused purchase of Type 26 frigates point to the growing interest in the advantages of commonality across allied navies.
The UK Royal Navy’s rapid procurement of uncrewed platforms aligns with the force’s strategic shift towards a fleet better equipped to handle modern threats.
The Astute-class submarine’s visit to Australia was the first time maintenance activity on a UK Royal Navy nuclear submarine had been carried out in the country.
The offensive against Iran could impact training and maintenance cycles and accelerate the degradation of the US arsenal on top of depleting Washington’s stockpiles.
The UK MoD is scoping out systems to counter the growing threat of uncrewed aerial systems, with a focus on low-cost modularity and speed to field.
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