USS Sioux City (LCS-11)

History of USS Sioux City (LCS-11)

The Liberty-class coastal is the future of the United States Navy (USN), with the group planning 14 ships. The monohull class is built side by side with the independent class, the latter differing in the use of trimaran hull designs, and both are used to fulfill the role of "Littoral Combatant" for naval, naval and land forces closer to the coast provide support.

USS Sioux Falls (LCS-11) is one of them, her keel was laid on February 19, 2014. She was launched on January 30, 2016, and delivered to the U.S. Navy in mid-August 2018.

The ship is an advanced surface combatant equipped with an array of advanced sensors, systems and weapons. This class of ships is characterized by a discreet appearance, with protrusions kept to a minimum, and the use of angled panels throughout.

The deck guns with turrets are located in the forward building, while the helipad and hangar structures are located above the stern. The midship is the main body of the hull, with the bridge at the front and the hangar at the rear.

At the helm of the warship is an impressive array of sensors and systems, including surface search radars, communications arrays and air search systems.

The ship is designed to have a minimum core crew of 15, with a maximum of 50 in various positions and workstations on board. Mission personnel include an additional 75 U.S. Navy trained professionals of various ranks.

Dimensions include 378.3 ft overall length, 57.4 ft beam and 13 ft draft. Full load displacement 3900 tons (short).

Several high-speed 40-foot RHIB ships are on board to support interception operations, special forces missions and ship-to-shore operations. There were enough food supplies to keep the crew at sea for more than twenty days before searching for supplies.

Installed armament includes the 57mm BAe Systems Mk 110 series deck gun located on the forecastle. The warship also carries the RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) family of short and medium surface-to-air missiles as aircraft deterrence or airspace deterrence tools. The Honeywell Mk 50 torpedo provides anti-ship/anti-submarine capability at range.

Carry 2 x 12.7mm heavy machine guns for extreme close range defense suicide jet skis or boarding excursions.

The helipad-hangar combination above the stern accommodates a Sikorsky MH-60R/S Seahawk Navy helicopter internally, and externally supports the launch and recovery of another helicopter. Helicopters are critical to the ship's functionality, providing inherent over-the-horizon capabilities as well as anti-submarine and anti-ship services.

In addition, these systems can be used for maritime replenishment and search and rescue (SAR) operations. Additionally, the ship is equipped with VTOL-enabled drones, such as the Northrop MQ-8 Fire Scout drone (described in detail elsewhere on this website).

Powered by 2x Rolls-Royce MT30 36mW gas turbines, paired with 2x Colt-Pielstick marine diesel engines, providing speeds of up to 45 knots and a range of 3,500 nautical miles under ideal conditions. Four Rolls-Royce water jets allow fine-tuning of the boat when needed.

Currently (2018), USS Sioux is assigned to the Littoral Combat Ship (2nd Squadron), stationed in the Persian Gulf region as part of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.

The ship's commissioning date is scheduled for November 17, 2018 in Annapolis, MD.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

PERFORMANCE

ARMAMENT

AIR WING