Back Třída Independence (2008) Czech Independence-klassen Danish Independence-Klasse (2008) German Clase Independence (2008) Spanish Classe Independence (littoral combat ship) French Classe Independence (Littoral Combat Ship) Italian インディペンデンス級沿海域戦闘艦 Japanese Kapal tempur pesisir kelas Independence Malay Okręty typu Independence Polish Бойові кораблі прибережної зони типу «Індепенденс» Ukrainian

Independence-class littoral combat ship

For the class of aircraft carrier, see Independence-class aircraft carrier.

Independence-class littoral combat ship
Class overview
NameIndependence class
BuildersAustal USA
Operators United States Navy
Preceded byN/A
Succeeded byConstellation class[1][2][3][4]
Cost$360 million [citation needed]
Built2008–present
In commission2010–present
Planned19
Building1
Completed18
Active16
Retired2
General characteristics
TypeLittoral combat ship
Displacement2,543 tons light, 3,422 tons full[6]
Length418 ft (127 m)[6]
Beam104 ft (32 m)[6]
Draft14 ft (4.3 m)[6]
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed44 knots (51 mph; 81 km/h)[15]
Range4,300 nautical miles (7,964 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h)[5]
Capacity210 metric tons (206 long tons, 231 short tons)
Complement40 core crew (8 officers, 32 enlisted) plus up to 35 mission crew
Sensors and
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament
Aircraft carried

The Independence class is a class of littoral combat ships built for the United States Navy.

The hull design evolved from a project at Austal to design a high speed, 40-knot-cruise ship. That hull design evolved into the high-speed trimaran ferry HSC Benchijigua Express and the Independence class was then proposed by General Dynamics and Austal as a contender for Navy plans to build a fleet of smaller, agile, multipurpose warships to operate nearshore in the littoral zone. Initially two ships were approved, to compete with Lockheed Martin's Freedom-class design.

Despite initial plans to only build ships of the winner out of the two competing Independence or Freedom classes, in 2010 the Navy announced plans to order up to ten additional ships of each class, for a total 12 ships per class.[17] In March 2016 the Navy announced their intention to order an additional two ships, increasing the order to 13 ships of each class.[18]

It was announced in early September 2016 that the first four vessels of the LCS program would be used as test ships rather than being deployed with the fleet.[19][20] This includes lead ship Independence and Coronado. As of May 2019, nine ships have been commissioned. In February 2020 it was announced that the Navy plans to retire the first four LCS ships.[21] On 20 June 2020, the US Navy announced that all four would be taken out of commission in March 2021, and will be placed in inactive reserve, because it would be too expensive to upgrade them to match the later ships in the class.[22][23]

  1. ^ "The Navy Is Looking for a New Frigate to Replace the Troubled Littoral Combat Ship". 11 July 2017. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  2. ^ [1] [dead link]
  3. ^ Trevithick, Joseph (10 July 2017). "In a Blow to LCS, the US Navy Finally Admits it Needs a Real Frigate". Archived from the original on 12 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  4. ^ Wetzel, Gary (12 July 2017). "The Littoral Combat Ship Is A Disaster And This Is The Solution". Foxtrot Alpha. Jalopnik. Archived from the original on 12 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  5. ^ Reilly, Sean (4 April 2010). "In high-stakes LCS competition, disagreement on how to rank the best deal". al.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d "USS Independence (LCS 2)". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Littoral Combat ships - LCS Detailed specification". Aerospace Exchange. Archived from the original on 4 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  8. ^ a b Thompson, Jason (1 February 2010). "USS Independence LCS-2 - GE LM2500 Gas Turbines". Diesel Power Magazine. TruckTrend Network. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  9. ^ Freedburg Jr., Sydney J. (17 December 2014). "Fire Scout Grows Up: Drone Getting Radar, Rockets, 2016 IOC". Breakingdefense.com. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), United States of America". Naval-technology.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  11. ^ "GDLCS Media Center". AUSTAL/General Dynamics. Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  12. ^ "General Dynamics Enhances LCS 10 with New Anti-ship and Land Attack Cruise Missile System". General Dynamics Corporation. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  13. ^ "NSM – Naval Strike Missile – Now Has a U.S. Navy Designation". Naval News. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  14. ^ "Q & A with the U.S. Navy on Lockheed Martin Hellfire missiles for Littoral Combat Ships". Navyrecognition.com. 17 July 2014. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  15. ^ Sharp, David (22 October 2009). "Navy's newest warships top out at more than 50 mph". KOMO News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  16. ^ "GE and U.S. Navy Celebrate 40th Operating Anniversary of LM2500 Gas Turbine" (Press release). GE Aviation. 27 October 2009. Archived from the original on 11 December 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  17. ^ Special from Navy Office of Information (29 December 2010). "Littoral Combat Ship Contract Award Announced" (Press release). Navy News Service. NNS101229-09. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  18. ^ Sick, Hope Hodge (1 April 2016). "Two More Littoral Combat Ships Under Contract". DoD Buzz. Military.com. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  19. ^ "U.S. Navy announces Littoral Combat Ship program overhaul". Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  20. ^ Lendon, Brad; Browne, Ryan (12 September 2016). "US Navy overhauls troubled littoral combat ship program". CNN. Archived from the original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  21. ^ Kyle Mizokami (12 February 2020). "The Navy Wants to Retire a Ship That's Only Six Years Old". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  22. ^ Trevithick, Joseph (1 July 2020). "Navy Will Mothball Its First Four Littoral Combat Ships In Nine Months If Congress Lets It". thedrive.com. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  23. ^ Larter, David B. (1 July 2020). "US Navy's first 4 littoral combat ships to leave the fleet in 9 months". DefenseNews.com. Retrieved 29 August 2020.

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