Lockheed to Build Saudi MMSC Warships for $2B

Lockheed Martin has won a contract valued $1.95 billion to build four Multi Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) ships for Saudi Arabia.

"Lockheed Martin is awarded a $1.95 billion modification contract for the detail design and construction of four Multi Mission Surface Combatant ships (MMSC)," US Department of Defense said in a statement Friday.

The MMSC is based on the freedom variant of the Navy Littoral Combat Ship class, and is being procured by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) under the auspices of the Navy's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, the statement read.

The new boat has a range of 5,000 nautical miles and can reach speeds in excess of 30 knots. According to the company, these boats will be based on Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship’s 118 meter hull, and will utilize the same combined diesel and gas propulsion system.

The MMSC utilizes the COMBATSS-21 Combat Management System, built from the Aegis Combat System Software library.  The MMSC integrated combat system solution leverages the domestic LCS integration of the 57mm Mk110 deck gun and SeaRAM, and expands multi-mission capability through integration of Over-The-Horizon surface-to-surface missiles, port and starboard 20 mm remote guns, a new fire control radar and a forward centerline 8 cell MK 41 Vertical Launch System equipped with RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles. The MMSC is also equipped with the AN/SLQ-25 Torpedo Defense system.

The awarded contract includes associated cost-plus-fixed-fee class design and related material and firm-fixed-price integrated data environment. This sale contributes to the foreign policy and national security of the US by helping to improve the security of a strategic regional partner. Only foreign military sales funds from the KSA will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year, the Pentagon statement read.

Work for the current contract is expected to be completed by June 2026.