Keel Laid on 13th US Littoral Combat Ship

The Lockheed Martin-led industry team officially laid the keel for the U.S. Navy's 13th Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the future USS Wichita, in a ceremony held at Marinette Marine Corporation in Marinette, Wisconsin, today.

Ship sponsor Kate Staples Lehrer completed the time-honored tradition and authenticated the keel of Wichita (LCS 13). Lehrer had her initials welded into a sheet of the ship's steel, which will ultimately be mounted in the ship throughout its entire service.

Wichita is a flexible Freedom-variant LCS that will be designed and outfitted with mission systems to conduct a variety of missions including anti-surface warfare, mine countermeasures and submarine warfare. The industry team building Wichita has delivered two ships with six others in various stages of construction and testing. The nation's first LCS, USS Freedom, completed a U.S. Navy deployment in 2013, and USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) is currently deployed for 16 months to Southeast Asia. These two deployments demonstrate how the ship class is addressing the U.S. Navy's need for an affordable, highly-networked and modular ship unlike any other in the world.

"This ship class, and the industry team behind it, has shown it can adapt to meet the Navy's most challenging missions and provide a powerful, modular platform," said Joe North, vice president of Littoral Ships and Systems at Lockheed Martin. "We have leveraged best practices and incorporated improvements based on sailors' feedback to ensure the fleet is prepared and empowered to fight, operate and support the ship in the littorals and open seas worldwide."

The Lockheed Martin-led LCS team includes shipbuilder Marinette Marine Corporation, a Fincantieri company, naval architect Gibbs & Cox, as well as nearly 900 suppliers in 43 states. 

"The LCS 13, Wichita, is a tangible measure of the collaboration and strength within this industry team," said Jan Allman, president and chief executive officer of Marinette Marine Corporation. "I'm extremely proud of our skilled workforce, the hardworking men and women that transform the LCS from a design into a powerful warship that will serve an invaluable role in the Fleet. Through Fincantieri's expansion and improvement in our facility, Marinette Marine was tailored to grow with this program, and we look forward to continuing our valuable partnership with the Navy."