US Navy seeks lifecycle sustainment for Independence LCS fleet

US Department of Defense allocates funds for the lifecycle sustainment of the Independence fleet, while continuing to strip other LCSs from the force structure.

John Hill April 03 2024

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded a contract modification to General Dynamics for continued design and lifecycle sustainment of the Independence-class variant of US Navy Littoral Combat Ships (LCS).

This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to $92.56m. Work will be performed in Pittsfield, Massachusetts (84%); San Diego, California (11%); Mobile, Alabama (5%), and is expected to be completed by March 2025.

Two twin designs come under a single LCS ‘class’: the programme created the monohull Freedom and the trimaran Independence-class variants, each broadly intended to fulfill a similar set of missions but using dramatically different platforms to achieve the goal.

With numerous ships being decomissioned – the Navy will only keep 21 of the 35 LCSs it will have built until the end of their 25-year service life – the US Government is eager to ensure its existing fleet remains adequately operable.

The $33.68m funds will support General Dynamics an original equipment manufacturer of the Independence variant alongside Austal USA, under a sole source agreement given the fact that there are “no other supplies or services [that] will satisfy agency requirements.”

Similarly, Austal USA was contracted in a $11.7m deal to provide industrial post-delivery availability support for USS Pierre (LCS 38), the latest Independence vessel to be constructed.

In the same spirit, Lockheed Martin won a contract to perform combat system integration services for the Navy’s Freedom-class vessels, ensuring their continued use, at the end of February 2024.

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