The US Navy’s newest littoral combat ship, the future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS 21), has completed acceptance trials in Lake Michigan, Lockheed Martin said.
Trials included a full-power run, maneuverability testing, and surface and air detect-to-engage demonstrations of the ship’s combat system.
Specifically, 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 US 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.
“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,” Joe DePietro , Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager, Small Combatants and Ship Systems, said.
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.