Military

            The Navy announced today that the USS Freedom, the first littoral combat ship of the LCS 1 class, will be homeported at Naval Station, San Diego, Calif.

            The USS Freedom is expected to be delivered to the Navy in December 2006 and arrive in San Diego in early 2007. 

            Freedom-class ships are designed to counter challenging shallow-water threats in coastal regions, specifically mines, diesel submarines and fast surface craft.  A fast, agile, and high-tech surface combatant, they will utilize focused-mission packages that deploy manned and unmanned vehicles to execute a variety of missions. 

            On May 27, 2004, the Department of Defense awarded both Lockheed Martin Corp., Maritime Systems & Sensors in Moorestown, N.J., and General Dynamics - Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, separate contract options for final system design with options for detail design and construction of up to two Flight 0 LCS. 

            Lockheed Martin Corp. was awarded the contract option on Dec. 15, 2004, for detail design and construction of the first Flight 0 LCS.  Lockheed Martin’s teammates include Gibbs & Cox in Arlington, Va.; Marinette Marine, Marinette, Wis., where the ship was built; as well as Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, La.

            The homeports of future Freedom-class ships have not yet been determined.