Leadership from Navy Expeditionary Forces Command Pacific (Commander, Task Force 75), Naval Special Warfare and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 5 toured littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) while the ship stopped to refuel in Guam en route to Southeast Asia, Dec. 11.
With an eye toward engagement opportunities and contingency operations throughout the 7th Fleet area of operations, Navy Expeditionary Forces Command Pacific (CTF 75) gained valuable understanding of Fort Worth’s capabilities.
Cmdr. Kevin Childre, CTF 75 operations officer, said:
With its adaptability, speed and maneuverability, LCS is an ideal platform for many of the unique requirements and challenges our diverse force is faced with.
Cmdr. Kendall Bridgewater, LCS Crew 104 commanding officer, guided the tour, which focused on the capabilities of Fort Worth’s airborne mission zone, well deck, 11-meter rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIB) and pilot house.
Littoral combat ships are designed to operate in near-shore environments and employ modular mission packages that can be configured for surface warfare, mine countermeasures or anti-submarine warfare.
Currently embarked with the surface warfare package, the well deck houses two 11-meter RHIBs, augmenting Fort Worth’s 57mm gun and rolling airframe missile launcher with two 30mm guns and two eight-member maritime security boarding teams. The ship’s airborne mission zone (AMZ) houses one MH-60R Seahawk helicopter and one MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aircraft system.
Building on USS Freedom’s (LCS 1) inaugural 10-month deployment from March to December 2013, Fort Worth is on a 16-month rotational deployment to the Asia-Pacific and will expand LCS operations to include visiting more ports, engaging more regional navies during exercises like Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) and expanding LCS capabilities with assets like the Fire Scout.
[mappress mapid=”14743″]
Press release, Image: US Navy