Lockheed Martin Receives $376 Million to Construct Nation’s Next Littoral Combat Ship

WASHINGTON | The U.S. Navy has awarded a Lockheed Martin-led industry team $376 million to construct the nation’s seventh Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). 

The fixed-price-incentive-fee contract provides funding for the second of 10 ships the Navy awarded to the Lockheed Martin team in December 2010. The contracts for the remaining eight ships will be awarded through 2015. Marinette Marine Corporation, a Fincantieri company, will construct the ships in Marinette, Wis., and naval architect Gibbs & Cox will provide engineering and design support. 

“As the Lockheed Martin team constructs this next ship, we will remain focused on performance and cost,” said Joe North, vice president of Lockheed Martin’s Littoral Ship Systems business. “The Navy’s 10-ship award provides stability to this program, allowing industry to more efficiently meet the customer’s need for an affordable, multi-mission surface combatant.”

The Lockheed Martin industry team designed and constructed the nation’s first LCS, USS Freedom. USS Freedom was commissioned in 2008 and has sailed more than 50,000 nautical miles. Based at its homeport of San Diego, Calif., the ship completed a highly successful maiden deployment in 2010 and is now fully integrated into the fleet.

LCS 3, the Navy’s future USS Fort Worth and Lockheed Martin’s second LCS, is more than 85 percent complete and was christened and launched in December 2010 – a milestone reached just 20 months after contract award. The program remains on schedule and on budget for delivery to the Navy in 2012. 

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Lockheed bags contract to build next LCS for US Navy

WASHINGTON (BNS): Lockheed Martin has bagged a $376 million contract from the US Navy to construct the seventh Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) for it.

The fixed-price-incentive-fee contract provides funding for the second of 10 such ships the Navy awarded to the Lockheed Martin team in December 2010. 

The contracts for the remaining eight ships will be awarded through 2015, Lockheed said.

Marinette Marine Corporation, a Fincantieri company, will construct the ships in Marinette, Wisconsin, and naval architect Gibbs & Cox will provide engineering and design support, the company said.

Lockheed has already built the first LCS, USS Freedom, for the US Navy which was commissioned in 2008. The construction work for LCS 3, USS Fort Worth, is presently going on at full pace. The ship is expected to be delivered to the Navy in 2012.

The US Navy intends to procure a total of 55 Littoral Combat Ships for multi-mission support. 

The LCS has been envisioned to be a versatile, networked, agile, surface combatant vessel capable of defeating anti-access and asymmetric threats in the littorals.

Fiscal Year 2011 Littoral Combat Ship Contract Awards Announced

Contract modifications were issued to Lockheed Martin Corporation and Austal USA March 17, under their respective Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) block buy contracts to add funding for construction of one fiscal year 2011 Littoral Combat Ship each.

This is the second ship fully funded for each contractor under its previously-awarded, fixed-price incentive "block buy" contract for the design and construction of up to ten LCS Flight 0+ ships. The two block buy contracts provide for the acquisition of a total of up to 20 LCS from fiscal year 2010 through fiscal year 2015, subject to availability of appropriations.

The amount of funds added under the block buy contract with Lockheed Martin Corporation for the fiscal year 2011 LCS ship is $376,621,375. The amount of funds added under the block buy contract with Austal USA for the fiscal year 2011 LCS ship is $368,592,125.

The ships will be built at Fincantieri Marinette Marine Corporation in Marinette, Wis., and Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., respectively.

The prices for the fiscal year 2011 ships were determined based on the competitive, LCS dual block buy contracts that were awarded Dec. 29, 2010.

"The awards represent the Navy's commitment to driving down costs in the littoral combat ship program," said Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition Sean Stackley. "We are executing the dual award strategy for these ships. Efforts to stabilize design, improve production planning, invest in shipbuilder improvements and leverage long-term vendor agreements all within the framework of a competitive fixed-price contract have returned this program to the level of affordability necessary for the Navy to move forward with construction at efficient rates in support of the 55-ship LCS requirement."

The additional funding obligated is for the seventh and eighth ships in the LCS class. USS Freedom (LCS 1) was delivered to the Navy September 2008 and is undergoing a continuous maintenance availability at its homeport of San Diego. USS Independence (LCS 2) was delivered to the Navy December 2009 and is currently undergoing test and trials in Mayport, Fla. Fort Worth (LCS 3) and Coronado (LCS 4) are under construction at Marinette Marine and Austal USA, respectively, and are expected to be delivered to the Navy in 2012.

LCS is needed to fill critical, urgent warfighting requirements gaps that exist today. LCS is required to establish and maintain U.S. Navy dominance in the littorals and sea lines of communication choke points around the world.

US Navy awards LCS contract to Austal and Lockheed

WASHINGTON (BNS): The US Navy has awarded Austal USA and Lockheed Martin Corporation each a fixed-price incentive contract for the design and construction of a 10 ship block-buy, for a total of 20 littoral combat ships (LCS) from fiscal 2010 through fiscal 2015.

"The awards represent a unique and valuable opportunity to lock in the benefits of competition and provide needed ships to our fleet in a timely and extraordinarily cost-effective manner," US Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in a statement.

The amount awarded to Austal USA is $432 million and the amount awarded to Lockheed Martin is $437 million. The contract includes options for nine additional vessels in the following five years.

The new contracts give each shipbuilding team one ship to build now, with another in 2011. Two more per year for each team will follow in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Lockheed will build a single-hull LCS, while Austal will provide a trimaran -- three hulls side by side. Both versions will weigh around 3,000 tonnes, have a top speed of 40 knots (74 kilometers per hour) and carry a helicopter, the statement said.

When all 10 ships of each block purchase are awarded, the value of the ship construction portion of the two contracts would be 3.6 billion dollars for Lockheed Martin and 3.5 billion for Austal USA.

"The LCS is uniquely designed to win against 21st century threats in coastal waters posed by increasingly capable submarines, mines and swarming small craft," Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary Roughead, was quoted as saying in the statement.

Related Photos

The littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) operates off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii, during the at-sea phase of Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2010, the world's largest international maritime exercise. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Ed Early/Released)







The Navy's newest littoral combat ship USS Independence (LCS 2) arrives at Mole Pier at Naval Air Station Key West. Independence is on the way to Norfolk, Va., for commencement of initial testing and evaluation of the aluminum vessel before sailing to its homeport in San Diego. Independence is a fast, agile, mission-focused ship specifically designed to defeat "anti-access" threats in shallow, coastal water regions, including surface craft, diesel submarines and mines. (U.S. Navy photo by Naval Air Crewman 2nd Class Nicholas Kontodiakos/Released)




The littoral combat ship Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Fort Worth (LCS 3) is launched into the Menominee River during a christening ceremony for the navy's third littoral combat ship. Fort Worth will continue to undergo outfitting and testing at Marinette Marine before delivery to the Navy in 2012. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin/Released)

A composite photograph of the littoral combat ships USS Freedom (LCS 1), top, and USS Independence (LCS 2) provided by Naval Surface Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet shows the two ships underway. (U.S. Navy photo illustration/Released)