Navy says Freedom will deploy 2 years early

Staff report
Posted : Tuesday Oct 13, 2009 19:08:46 EDT

SAN DIEGO Freedom, the Navys first littoral combat ship, will go operational early next year to close urgent warfighting gaps, with orders to deploy to the U.S. Southern Command and U.S. Central Command regions, officials announced Tuesday.

The ships maiden operational deployment originally was scheduled for 2012.

Deploying LCS now is a big step forward in getting this ship where it needs to be operating in the increasingly important littoral regions, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead said in the statement. We must deliver this critical capability to the warfighter now.

The Lockheed Martin-built Freedom, the first of two LCS ships, recently completed an Industrial Post Delivery Availability 2 period after officials adjusted its schedule to accommodate the earlier deployment.

By deploying Freedom early, officials hope to fill littoral gaps not previously seen in the modern cruiser or destroyer fleet, officials said in the announcement.

The sooner we integrate them into our fleet, the sooner we can incorporate them in the order of battle, Adm. J.C. Harvey Jr., U.S. Fleet Forces commander, said in the statement. This deployment offers a golden opportunity to learn by doing. Employing the USS Freedom in theater two years ahead of a normal timeline allows us to incorporate lessons that can only be learned in a deployment setting more quickly and effectively in the LCS fleet integration process.

source:http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/10/navy_freedom_2010_101309/

OK, I'm calling the downselect for LockMart....sorry GD

Obviously, in looks, the USS Independence wins. But still, this is finally good news for the LCS program.



When I was young I used to pray for a bike, then I realized that God doesn't work that way, so I stole a bike and prayed for forgiveness.

How can they honestly call it this early when the GD one has not completed it's trials and the sailors have not had a chance to put it through it's paces?

Yes, I am pulling for GD because of the better sea-keeping, larger flight deck, and larger hanger space.

And it looks cooler too