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LCS-11 Sioux City

In a move that highlights the ongoing challenges faced by the US Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program, the Navy has officially decommissioned the USS Sioux City, a Freedom-class LCS, after less than five years of service. The warship, which was intended to serve for 25 years, was commissioned on November 17, 2018, but its crew lowered its flag for the final time on August 14, 2023, during a solemn ceremony at Naval Station Mayport in Florida.

The decommissioning came in the wake of broader issues surrounding the LCS program, which was envisioned as a cost-effective solution to handle a wide range of missions with small, agile surface ships. However, the program has faced persistent challenges related to the ships' suitability for its intended tasks, reliability and survivability. Problems with propulsion systems have been ongoing, and the operational costs have been deemed comparable to those of destroyers.

On 17 November 2018 the Navy commissioned its newest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship (LCS), the future USS Sioux City (LCS 11) at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The USS Sioux City, designated LCS 11, is the 13th LCS to enter the fleet and the sixth of the Freedom-variant design. The future USS Sioux City is the first naval vessel to be named in honor of Sioux City, Iowa. The fourth-largest city in the state, Sioux City was founded in 1854 at the navigational head of the Missouri River and takes its name from one of a group of North American Indian tribes that make up the Great Sioux Nation.

The Navy and Lockheed Martin, with Marinette Marine Corp., held a keel laying ceremony 19 February 2014, for the future USS Sioux City (LCS 11), the Navy's 11th littoral combat ship (LCS). The keel-laying ceremony recognizes the first joining together of a ship's components. While modern shipbuilding processes allow advanced fabrication of individual modules, laying the keel represents the formal beginning in the life of a ship. LCS 11 is the first Navy ship to be named after Sioux City, Iowa.

Ship sponsor Mary Winnefeld, wife of Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral James "Sandy" Winnefeld, Jr., authenticated the keel by having her initials welded into a sheet of the ship's hull. "I'm both honored and delighted to be back in my home state of Wisconsin as the sponsor of Sioux City," said Mrs. Winnefeld. "It's been a real privilege to meet the great Americans who are building this versatile ship, and I thank them in advance for their quality work. I look forward to meeting her crew soon, being part of her family, and bringing our ship to life when she's commissioned."

"We are acknowledging an important milestone in the life of the newest Littoral Combat Ship, and we are also celebrating a monumental leap forward in the strength, capability, and flexibility of the Navy's future Surface Fleet. LCS 11 and the entire LCS Class are truly without precedent in our national defense arsenal -- breaking new ground in Navy acquisition, ship design, and warfighting technology," said Capt. Tom Anderson, LCS program manager.

LCS is a high-speed, agile, shallow draft, mission-focused surface warship designed for operations in the littoral, or coastal, environment (within 300 nautical miles of land), yet fully capable of open ocean operations. Sioux City is one of four Freedom-variant LCS currently under construction at Marinette Marine. The ship was expected to deliver to the fleet in 2017.