Upgraded US Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 19 Completes Acceptance Trials

Lockheed Martin’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 19, the future USS St. Louis, completed Acceptance Trials in Lake Michigan recently.

Joe DePietro, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager, Small Combatants and Ship Systems said, "LCS 19 includes a solid-state radar, upgraded communications suite, increased self-defense capabilities and topside optimization, among other updates."

The Freedom-variant LCS is targeted for warfighting upgrades to enhance situational awareness and evolve the ship's self-defense capabilities. These upgrades are already underway – LCS computing infrastructures are receiving cyber upgrades and over-the-horizon missiles are being installed in support of upcoming deployments.

The ship will undergo final outfitting and fine-tuning before delivery. LCS 19 is the tenth Freedom-variant LCS designed and built by the Lockheed Martin led industry team and is slated for delivery to the Navy early next year.

LCS is designed to deliver speed to capability and to grow as the missions it serves evolve. Today, the Freedom-variant LCS delivers advanced capability in anti-submarine, surface and mine countermeasure missions.

The Freedom-variant LCS has completed three successful deployments with a fourth ongoing. In October, LCS 7 (USS Detroit) deployed to the U.S. Southern Command supporting the Martillo campaign – a multinational effort targeting illicit trafficking routes in Central American coastal waters.