US Littoral Combat Ship 'Little Rock' Completes Acceptance Trial

Future’s fifth Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship USS Little Rock has completed US Navy acceptance trials last week.

Following the trails, now Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine are readying the LCS for delivery in the coming weeks, the Naval service announced Friday.

The trials, conducted over a five-day period while in port and underway, demonstrated the performance of the ship's propulsion plant, auxiliary systems and the ship's handling.

The vessel completed a full-power run along with all associated steering and maneuvering events and also surface and air self-defense detect-to-engage exercises, the Navy said.

"Of particular note was completion of a full-power demonstration utilizing 100 percent of available propulsion power," LCS Program Manager Capt. Michael Taylor said. "This mode of operation was previously restricted due to a design issue which is now resolved.” Taylor added.

The Little Rock was built by Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wis. It completed the acceptance trials with the highest score of any Freedom-variant LCS to date.