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Jan 17, 2010
US Navy's newest warship
<!--background story, collapse if none--> 'Like something out of Star Wars'
INDEPENDENCE, whose namesake was commissioned in 1776, was the second of a new 'revolutionary' class of ships because of its small crew size and the modular, interchangeable combat systems it will carry, Admiral Roughead told the ship's crew and hundreds of guests who braved the pouring rain to attend the ceremony on the dock in Mobile.
'It is truly unique in the world,' Admiral Roughead said, telling reporters later, 'It doesn't even look like a ship. It looks like something out of Star Wars to me.'
The ships have a core crew of just 40 people, part of the Navy's drive to cut the number and cost of people aboard its ships. Even adding in a mission package and air crew, the staffing will be just 78 - far less than comparable ships .
The Navy expects to release around Jan 22 a final request for proposals for the competition between General Dynamics and Lockheed, whose first LCS ship was commissioned in late 2008.
PHOTO: REUTERS
<!-- story content : start --> MOBILE (Alabama) - THE US Navy commissioned its newest warship on Saturday, a 379-feet (115.5- metre) aluminum three-hulled vessel built by General Dynamics Corp, one of two designs vying for billions of dollars of follow-on orders. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead told reporters as he travelled to the ceremony that the new class of fast, flexible shallow-water warships would be useful for a wide range of missions, including responding to humanitarian disasters like the earthquake in Haiti.
Admiral Roughead said the first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) built by Lockheed Martin Corp, a more traditional steel monohull ship which is in Norfolk, Virginia, awaiting deployment to the Caribbean, could be used to quickly move supplies from the US military base at Guantanamo, Cuba, to Haiti. 'Right now we're working a lot of different options, but if the LCS would be of value in Haiti, then that's where it's going to be,' Admiral Roughead said, noting the ship's shallow draft made it well-suited to bolster the US military effort there.
Regardless of which design wins, the Littoral Combat Ships will dramatically shift the way the Navy will operate, featuring interchangeable mission packages to hunt for mines, fight pirates or other enemies in small boats, or track enemy submarines - depending on what is needed at the time. If he had more of the new ships - which carry manned and unmanned helicopters - already available, they would be deployed like a 'swarm of bees' around Haiti, Admiral Roughead said. -- REUTERS
Home > Breaking News > World > Story
Jan 17, 2010
US Navy's newest warship
<!--background story, collapse if none--> 'Like something out of Star Wars'
INDEPENDENCE, whose namesake was commissioned in 1776, was the second of a new 'revolutionary' class of ships because of its small crew size and the modular, interchangeable combat systems it will carry, Admiral Roughead told the ship's crew and hundreds of guests who braved the pouring rain to attend the ceremony on the dock in Mobile.
'It is truly unique in the world,' Admiral Roughead said, telling reporters later, 'It doesn't even look like a ship. It looks like something out of Star Wars to me.'
The ships have a core crew of just 40 people, part of the Navy's drive to cut the number and cost of people aboard its ships. Even adding in a mission package and air crew, the staffing will be just 78 - far less than comparable ships .
The Navy expects to release around Jan 22 a final request for proposals for the competition between General Dynamics and Lockheed, whose first LCS ship was commissioned in late 2008.
PHOTO: REUTERS
<!-- story content : start --> MOBILE (Alabama) - THE US Navy commissioned its newest warship on Saturday, a 379-feet (115.5- metre) aluminum three-hulled vessel built by General Dynamics Corp, one of two designs vying for billions of dollars of follow-on orders. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead told reporters as he travelled to the ceremony that the new class of fast, flexible shallow-water warships would be useful for a wide range of missions, including responding to humanitarian disasters like the earthquake in Haiti.
Admiral Roughead said the first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) built by Lockheed Martin Corp, a more traditional steel monohull ship which is in Norfolk, Virginia, awaiting deployment to the Caribbean, could be used to quickly move supplies from the US military base at Guantanamo, Cuba, to Haiti. 'Right now we're working a lot of different options, but if the LCS would be of value in Haiti, then that's where it's going to be,' Admiral Roughead said, noting the ship's shallow draft made it well-suited to bolster the US military effort there.
Regardless of which design wins, the Littoral Combat Ships will dramatically shift the way the Navy will operate, featuring interchangeable mission packages to hunt for mines, fight pirates or other enemies in small boats, or track enemy submarines - depending on what is needed at the time. If he had more of the new ships - which carry manned and unmanned helicopters - already available, they would be deployed like a 'swarm of bees' around Haiti, Admiral Roughead said. -- REUTERS
