The Navy is set to christen its first multi-mission combat ship Sept. 23, transforming the U.S. Navy fleet one ship at a time.
The USS Freedom will be christened at the Marinette Marine Corp., a civilian shipbuilding facility in Marinette, Wis., and after commissioning in 2007, it will be home-ported at Naval Station San Diego.
Freedom is the first of four littoral combat ships being built for the Navy’s surface combatant fleet. The ships are designed to navigate shallow waters near shore and will be based in San Diego.
In December 2004, the Navy awarded Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin Corp. a $423 million contract for design and construction of the Freedom and one other littoral ship. Lockheed employs about 1,200 locally.
Around the same time, defense contractor General Dynamics Corp., based in Virginia, was awarded a second contract of unspecified value for building two more littoral ships of different design.
A fast and nimble naval ship, the Freedom can perform more than one mission, which is uncommon for naval ships. On an as-needed basis, the littoral ships can switch functions to serve anti-submarine warfare, mine warfare and surface warfare missions.
The ships are also designed to bring mission modules containing defense-related equipment onboard the ships rapidly, within one to four days, which could save time and lives, according to a Navy spokesman.
“The mission of a ship can be changed, without having to bring in an entirely different ship, allowing the ship to morph into another mission,” said Lt. Josh Frey, commander of Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.
Equipped with the latest technology, the littoral ships can launch the recovery of manned and unmanned vehicles, special operations forces, and conduct homeland defense and anti-terrorism operations.
, Amy Yarnall
