DETROIT, Oct. 22, 2016
/PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Navy commissioned the nation's
seventh Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) – USS Detroit (LCS 7) – on the
Detroit River, officially placing the ship designed and constructed
by a Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT)-led industry team into active
service.
USS Detroit, the fourth Freedom-variant in the LCS class,
completed acceptance trials in July and was delivered to the U.S.
Navy on August 12. It joins three
other Freedom-variant ships in the fleet: USS Freedom (LCS 1), USS
Fort Worth (LCS 3) and USS Milwaukee (LCS 5). Collectively,
Freedom-variant ships have sailed over 225,000 nautical miles and
successfully completed two overseas deployments.
"The entire Lockheed Martin-led LCS team is honored to have
delivered USS Detroit and witness
the ship being commissioned and brought to life in her namesake
city," said Joe North, vice president of Littoral Ships and
Systems. "For decades to come, USS Detroit will serve in the
defense of our great nation, enabling the U.S. Navy to carry out
its missions around the world and representing our nation where and
when needed."
The Lockheed Martin-led industry team is currently in full-rate
production of the Freedom-variant, with six ships under
construction at Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) and three more
in long-lead material procurement. The ship's modular design and
affordable price enables the U.S. Navy to provide presence where
and when needed at a fraction of the cost of other platforms.
LCS 7 is the sixth U.S. Navy ship named USS Detroit. Previous
ships to bear the name included a Sacramento-class fast combat
support ship, an Omaha-class light cruiser, a Montgomery-class
cruiser and two 19th century sloops of war.
The Lockheed Martin-led LCS team is comprised of shipbuilder
Fincantieri Marinette Marine, naval architect Gibbs & Cox, and
more than 500 suppliers in 37 states. The Freedom-variant's steel
monohull is based on a proven, survivable design recognized for its
stability and reliability. With 40 percent reconfigurable shipboard
space, the hull is ideally suited to accommodate additional
lethality and survivability upgrades associated with the
Freedom-variant Frigate.
For additional information, visit our website:
www.lockheedmartin.com/lcs
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a
global security and aerospace company that employs approximately
98,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research,
design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of
advanced technology systems, products and services.
About Fincantieri Marinette Marine
Founded in 1942,
Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) is located on the Menominee
River flowage into Green Bay. The largest shipyard in the Midwest,
FMM has delivered more than 1,300 vessels to the U.S. Navy, U.S.
Coast Guard, and commercial customers, including the
technologically advanced Littoral Combat Ship Freedom variant for
the U.S. Navy. In 2008, FMM along with several sister shipyards
also based in the Great Lakes region, became part of FINCANTIERI,
one of the world's largest shipbuilding groups and number one by
diversification and innovation, with almost 19,000 employees, of
whom more than 7,800 in Italy, 20
shipyards in 4 continents. FINCANTIERI operates in
the United States through its
subsidiary Fincantieri Marine Group, serving both civilian and
government customers. Over the past five years, FINCANTIERI
invested more than $100 million in
both capital infrastructure and its resources to support FMM's
transformation into what is now one of the best shipyards in
the United States. Employing
approximately 1,500 employees, today FMM is a state-of-the-art,
full service new construction shipyard.
About Gibbs & Cox
Gibbs & Cox, the nation's
leading independent maritime solutions firm specializing in naval
architecture, marine engineering and design, is headquartered in
Arlington, Virginia. The company,
founded in 1929, has provided designs for nearly 80 percent of the
current U.S. Navy surface combatant fleet; approaching 7,000 naval
and commercial ships have been built to Gibbs & Cox
designs.
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SOURCE Lockheed Martin