The US Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded Florida-based BAE Systems Jacksonville Ship Repair a $26.2m modification to a previously awarded contact to perform a post shakedown availability (PSA) for an as-yet undelivered US Navy Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).
Detailing the award on 23 August, the DoD stated that the PSA would be performed on LCS 29 (the USS Beloit), with work due to take place in Mayport, Florida, and expected to be completed in February 2026.
Launched in 2022, the USS Beloit is currently undergoing outfitting at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, with construction first starting in 2020. In July 2024, the US Naval Sea Systems Command stated that the USS Beloit was due to be delivered to the US Navy “in the summer” the same year.
The USS Beloit is the second-to-last Freedom-class LCS to be constructed, with the final vessel, the USS Cleveland (LCS 31), provided its ship’s crest earlier in 2024.
Following delivery, the US Navy will perform a shakedown cruise to assess the ship’s systems, after which the PSA will take place to rectify any issues identified.
US Navy only wants 10 Freedom-class LCS
The LCS programme was planned to see the introduction of 52 vessels split evenly between the two variants, but this was continuously scaled back before settling somewhat on a 32-ship fleet.
However, even this reduced ambition for the programme has not been met, with the US Navy’s March 2024 long range shipbuilding plan presented to Congress stating the proposed budget for 2025 “resets the LCS programme to maintain ten Freedom-class LCS dedicated to the [surface-warfare] mission” and “reduces the Navy’s requirement to 15 Independence-class LCSs dedicated to the MCM mission”.
The LCS class consists of two variants, Freedom and Independence, designed and built by two separate industry teams. The first four LCS, two each of the Freedom and Independence variants, were introduced into service effectively as trial ships, intended to test the platforms and operational concepts ahead of future builds.
General Characteristics, Freedom variant LCS
The LCS: a stream of decommissioned ships
A number of Freedom variant Littoral Combat Ships have been decommissioned from US Navy service after just a handful of operational years, such as the USS Sioux City (less than five years), USS Little Rock (less than six years), and USS Detroit (less than seven years), from an expected service life of 25 years.
In an August 2023 contract notice it was revealed that the USS Wichita (LCS 13) would undergo a diesel engine replacement programme, just four years after it entered service.
The US Navy’s 2022 action plan proposed that USS Wichita would be one of nine Freedom-class LCS to be decommissioned in 2023, alongside USS Forth Worth, USS Milwaukee, USS Detroit, USS Little Rock, USS Sioux City, USS Billings, USS Indianapolis, and USS St Louis.
One of two original Freedom variants, USS Fort Worth, was proposed to be dismantled in 2026 after 16 years in service, with the vessel single-crewed and not part of the deployable fleet.
The loss of Fort Worth will leave ten operational Freedom-class LCS, in line with the US Navy’s 2024 shipbuilding plan.
