US Navy commissions littoral ship Nantucket

The US Navy (USN) has commissioned future littoral combat ship (LCS) Nantucket at a ceremony in Massachusetts.

Nantucket is the 14th Freedom-variant LCS commissioned in the USN’s fleet, with its design and build led by Lockheed Martin, out of the Fincantieri Marinette Marine Corporation's shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin. The alternative, Independence variant, with 13 vessels currently in its fleet, was initially designed by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (LCS 2 and LCS 4) and subsequently (LCS 6 and up) by Austal USA out of its own shipyard in Mobile, Alabama.

The LCS concept is to run a fleet of fast, agile, mission-focused surface vessels with minimal manning, with as many of the legacy shipboard functions as possible, including logistics, maintenance and training farmed out to external organisations.

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Each of the two variants, Freedom and Independence, form their own squadron, with the Nantucket set to join Littoral Ship Squadron 2 in Mayport, Florida, whereas Independence-variant LCS are deployed out of San Diego. That way, the overall LCS fleet is split to deliver operational readiness for surface warfare in both the Atlantic and Pacific theatres.

While all the LCS vessels to date have been primarily focused on the surface warfare function, their design is such that other mission modules could be added as needed, and several such modules are currently in testing, according to the USN.

At the commissioning ceremony, US secretary of the navy Carlos Del Toro said the crew and the navy’s industry partners had worked tirelessly to bring the USS Nantucket to life, and that the vessel “represents the future of our fleet and force, equipped with advanced technology and sailed by our navy’s best and brightest crews”.

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Freedom Class (LCS)