USS Fort Worth (LCS-3)

History of USS Fort Worth (LCS-3)

The United States Navy (USN) originally envisioned a broad class of warships classified as "Littoral Combat Ships". Designed with speed and agility in mind, this class is primarily intended for operation in "close-up" environments, while retaining blue water capabilities.

This will allow the ships to support nearshore amphibious operations or engage in deep water operations with the fleet as needed. Multi-mission capabilities include "mission pack" modules that will allow for the suppression of enemy submarines, fast attack surface vehicles and naval mines.

The US Navy adopted two variants to meet the requirements of the LCS, which became the Independence class (from General Dynamics) and the Freedom class (from Lockheed Martin). The LCS program began in 2002 and produced the USS Freedom (LCS-1) in September 2008, followed by the USS Independence (LCS-2) in January 2010.

Twelve Freedom-class ships are now planned (compared to 32 originally expected). ) has two active duty at the time of writing (2015 - USS Freedom and USS Fort Worth). The USS Fort Worth (LCS-3) is the second ship in the class and will eventually consist of 12 ships.

The contract to build Fort Worth was awarded to Marinette Marine Corporation (MMC) of Marinette, Wisconsin in March 2009, and her keel was laid on July 11, 2009. She was launched on December 7, 2010, and accepted by the Navy on June 6, 2012.

Commissioned on September 22, 2012, still in service as of 2015.

The Fort Worth section includes a relatively unobstructed foredeck, except for the single-deck guns and turrets. The bridge structure is located at the stern, forming the forward part of the actual hull structure. Their smoke funnels are hidden in stealth designs.

She has a helipad at the stern with access to the hangar. Various systems and processing equipment are mounted on its superstructure, and there is a single mast.

Fort Worth had a displacement of 3,900 tons (short), a length of 387 feet, a beam of 58 feet, and a draft of 13 feet. Her propulsion system consists of 2 Rolls-Royce MT30 36MW gas turbines with 2 Colt-Pielstick diesel engines and 4 Rolls-Royce water jets. Under ideal conditions, she can reach speeds of up to 45 knots, making it a fast ship for her size. The range is up to 3,500 nautical miles.

She has a crew of about 125 and the ship's shop allows her to stay at sea for more than 20 days. She carries a RHIB (hard-hulled inflatable boat) speedboat for interception/boarding operations, and her aft flight deck can support up to 2 Sikorsky MH-60R/S Seahawk Navy helicopters (complete with hangar equipment) and Nova Throp Grumman's launch/recovery MQ-8 Fire Scout helicopter-drone (this aircraft is described elsewhere on this site).

Combat systems include TRS-3D air and surface search radar, Lockheed COMBAT SS-21 Battle Management System (CMS) and AN/PQS-2A passive sonar array. Her armament is led by a BAe Systems Mk 110 series 57mm deck gun with RIM-116 RAM (Rolling Airframe Missile) surface-to-air system (Mk 49 launcher, 21 missiles), Lockheed/Raytheon XM501 "NETFIRES" "PAM ("Precision Attack Munitions") missile system, 2 x 30 mm Mk 44 "Bushmaster" automatic cannons and 2 x .50 caliber heavy machine guns.

After entering service in September 2012, Fort Worth was sent on a trial period in late 2013 to prove their weapons and situational awareness systems were reliable. She also successfully completed the launch and recovery of the aforementioned fire reconnaissance drone. She was deployed to Singapore in November 2014 and was used in the (unsuccessful) search for the missing Indonesian AirAsia Flight 8501 the following month.

In January 2015, she was deployed to the disputed South China Sea to support U.S. allies and interests (primarily to deter North Korean incitement and Chinese aggression).

During this time, the ship was part of a simulated incident that reportedly left it vulnerable to attack. Simulations revealed weaknesses in their design after some of their systems were "broken" during "battles," leading to reservations about the future viability of the LCS program. After 2019, the U.S.

Navy expects to purchase an additional 20 Littoral Combat Ships that will have upgraded weapons, sensor/processing systems and general armor.

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