USS Freedom (LCS-1)

History of USS Liberty (LCS-1)

The U.S. Navy sees a need for a small multi-role frigate-type warship to operate in coastal or coastal waters at home and abroad. Currently, the Coast Guard is tasked with being on rivers, actuaries, coastal areas, and even into blue waters when necessary. Bids were bid for the contract for 55 ships, and two shipyards were selected.

The Freedom-class design was proposed by Lockheed Martin, and two ships were approved for construction. General Dynamics also submitted a design to the Admiralty - accepted as the "Independence class," also a frigate-sized Littoral Combat Ship.

Marinette Maritime laid the keel of the USS Freedom (LCS-1) in June 2005. Marinette Marine was established on the Menominee River in Marinette, Wisconsin in 1942 to meet the growing demand for the construction of naval warships in the United States during World War II. Originally built as wooden barges, Marinette has grown into a world-class small shipyard, building more than 1,500 ships of 3,000 tons or less displacement. The USS Liberty, built along the Menominee River, found some 2,600 inconsistencies when launched from the side during sea trials in 2008, 21 of which were rated "high priority" in her maintenance. As winter approaches, not all necessary repairs have been completed during this overhaul.

To prevent the Liberty from becoming trapped in icy waters, it was decided in December 2008 that she should travel first to Green Bay, then to Lake Michigan, and finally to Norfolk, Virginia, for testing on the high seas. This started before she transitioned to her homeport in San Diego, California.

Liberty went to sea during sea trials in 2010.

At its core, the USS Freedom is 378 feet (115 m) long, with a beam length of 57.4 feet (17.5 m) and a draft of 12.8 feet (3.9 m). Her displacement was 2,862 tons. The engineering team at Lockheed Martin LCS designed the hull concept called "Sea Blade" based on the long and fast hull shape of the motor yacht "Destriero". The fuselage is a steel semi-displacement monohull and the superstructure is made of aluminum.

The rear flight deck is large and uses a delta traverse system to move the helicopter in and out of the provided onboard hangar. The flight deck is designed to be interchangeable to accommodate different types of helicopters during launch and recovery.

The LCS-1 also has two options for launching and recovering mission ships - a stern ramp and a large starboard side door close to the waterline. The side doors feature a 3-axle crane system to load cargo and mission modules onto the deployed boat as needed.

Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) use water jet nozzles that extend below the waterline in place of normal propellers, shafts, struts and rudders. This choice of propulsion equipment is new on ships of this size, giving them an advantage in missions that require the use of shallow drafts (as in the USS Freedom). The lack of underwater propulsion equipment minimizes the risk of running aground or encountering invisible underwater objects. Removing equipment under the hull allows Liberty to operate closer to shores and rivers.

She can also "strand" herself to deploy or recover waiting troops with full mission gear.

The monohull design can sail on underwater logs or sandbars without damaging the flush water jet propulsion system. The water jets produce rapid acceleration that can propel the Freedom at speeds in excess of 45 knots (83 km/h; 52 mph). Waterjet-propelled boats are extremely maneuverable and can be stopped almost "on the fly" without overloading the engines.

Stern propulsion is provided by deflectors that direct the jet forward, and water jets are used to keep the freedom in place even in strong currents when it is necessary to maintain a stance.

The vessel has a range of 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) and a speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). Without a dinghy, her endurance is about 21 days. She has a main crew of 40 who manage the day-to-day operations of the ship, and two different mission crews of 35 each, including an aviation team. Mission personnel are known as the "Gold" and "Blue" teams, bringing the total to 75. Two 35-man Gold and Blue teams offer four-month trips that include sailors and coastguards from two speedboat boarding teams.

2 x helicopters of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron #22 - "Sea Knights". Each team has a Coast Guard fire brigade who can take action against illegal drug boats if necessary.

Four 750 kW Fincantieri Isotta-Fraschini diesel generators power all critical on-board systems from the kitchen to sensors and processing systems. The air-to-surface radar is an EADS TRS-3D, and the battle management system is manufactured by Lockheed Martin (COMBATSS-21). Freedom uses a towed sonar array (AN/SQR-20) for ASW (anti-submarine warfare) missions.

The electronic warfare systems are the Argon ST WBR-2000 ESM system and the Terma A/S SKWS decoy system.

The Liberty is equipped with weapons suited to its multitasking role capabilities. She has 1 x BAE Systems Mk 110 series 57mm deck gun mounted forward with a range of 57,000 ft (17,000 m). The turret of the 57mm gun is automatically armed with 400 rounds and the other two magazines have 240 rounds each. The sights are gyro-stabilized.

There are 4 x Brownings on the port and starboard sides of the boat. Heavy 50 cal machine gun and 2 x Mk 44 Bushmaster II 30mm guns for surface threats. The Mk 44 is a 30mm chain gun that fires 200 rounds per minute and has a range of up to 5,100 m (16,700 ft). To counter the air-to-surface missile threat, 21 x RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile Units are the weapon of choice. Missile launchers are mounted aft above the hangar deck for close range defense against incoming aircraft and cruise missile threats.

As planned, the ship is equipped with internal batteries for 45 x NLOS missiles to counter anti-surface ship warfare (ASW) threats. However, these have been removed.

Aircraft on board are 2 Sikorsky MH-60R/S Seahawk medium lift helicopters and 1 Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Recon UAV helicopter. The foldable/foldable stern section of the 2 x Seahawks is located within the available hanger, reducing the footprint. The MH-60R can handle anti-submarine missions, anti-submarine warfare, and medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) of naval ship crews and other personnel in distress. Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Insertion Missions, Vertical Resupply of Personnel and Supplies (VERTREP) and Search and Rescue (SAR) are all part of the Seahawk Forte.

All Navy H-60 ??series helicopters are equipped with rescue lifts for SAR/CSAR operations.

1 x MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle designed to provide over-the-horizon reconnaissance and targeting for fast drug smugglers in support of air, ground and sea elements. The MQ-8B is equipped with short wings for aerodynamic stability and weapon mounting points.

Available weapons include laser-guided Viper glide weapons, Hellfire missiles and Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) pods. 70 mm (2.75 in) laser-guided missiles with folding wings can destroy lightly armored vehicles.

Another use of the Fire Scout is to deliver emergency supplies (up to 200 lbs/90 kg) for troops on the battlefield.

On February 16, 2010, the USS Liberty (LCS-1), Americas first Littoral Combat Ship, set sail from Naval Station Mayport, Florida, for sea trials, according to the U.S. Department of the Navy.

During this time on the space station, Freedom can fly missions in the Caribbean for several weeks before reaching her homeport in San Diego. During the operation, observers spotted a speedboat outside Colombian territorial waters. Freedom launched his MH-60S Seahawk helicopter, whose surface radar monitors the ships of drug dealers.

The crew also observed passengers on board dumping their drug cargo overboard. The ship then crossed Colombian waters, prompting the Colombian Navy to pursue its pursuit.

The Seahawk helicopter remained at the station when the USS Liberty off the coast arrived and launched a small boat. Crews have seized a quarter ton of cocaine thrown into the sea by panicked drug smugglers. The first "trial run" of the Fourth Fleet was successful. The U.S.

Navy said the bags of cocaine recovered from the water should remain on the Liberty as evidence if/if prosecutors try to bring the smugglers to justice.

In February 2011, a 6-inch horizontal hull crack was discovered below the waterline during severe weather marine testing of the USS Liberty. It is formed at the weld between two steel plates. The Liberty avoided rough seas and returned to the Port of San Diego.

Navy inspects monohulls for stress fractures.

To date, the USS Freedom (LCS-1) has sailed more than 10,000 nautical miles and successfully completed sea trials of its combat, communications, sensor and processing systems. At the time of writing (2011), only the free-class USS Freedom (LCS-1) is in service.

Other planned sister ships are USS Forth Worth, USS Milwaukee, USS Detroit, USS Little Rock and USS Sioux City.

In February 2015, it was announced that the designation "Littoral Combat Ship" would be reclassified as "frigate" for future ships of this class.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Wing