USS ''Little Rock'' (LCS-9) was a (LCS) of the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
.
She is the second ship named after
Little Rock
( The "Little Rock")
, government_type = Council-manager
, leader_title = Mayor
, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_party = D
, leader_title2 = Council
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, the capital city of
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
.
Design
In 2002, the U.S. Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of
littoral combat ship
The littoral combat ship (LCS) is either of two classes of relatively small surface vessels designed for operations near shore by the United States Navy. It was "envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant capable of defeat ...
s.
The Navy initially ordered two monohull ships from
Lockheed Martin, which became known as the ''Freedom''-class littoral combat ships after the first ship of the class, .
Odd-numbered U.S. Navy littoral combat ships are built using the ''Freedom''-class monohull design, while even-numbered ships are based on a competing design, the
trimaran hull from
General Dynamics.
The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the ''Freedom''-class design.
''Little Rock'' is the fifth ''Freedom''-class littoral combat ship to be built.
''Little Rock'' includes additional stability improvements over the original ''Freedom'' design; the stern transom was lengthened and buoyancy tanks were added to the stern to increase weight service and enhance stability.
The ship will also feature automated sensors to allow "conditions-based maintenance" and reduce crew overwork and fatigue issues that ''Freedom'' had on her first deployment.
Construction and career
The ship's estimated construction costs are between $300 million and $350 million. The
keel
The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
laying ceremony for ''Little Rock'' was on 27 June 2013. The mast stepping ceremony took place on 23 April 2015, followed by the
christening ceremony on 18 July 2015.
On 25 August 2017, ''Little Rock'', the fifth ''Freedom''-variant LCS built by
Lockheed Martin and
Fincantieri Marinette Marine
Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) is an American shipbuilding firm in Marinette, Wisconsin. Marinette Marine was a subsidiary of The Manitowoc Company, Manitowoc Marine Group of Wisconsin from 2000 to 2009, when it was sold to Fincantieri Mari ...
, completed acceptance trials on
Lake Michigan with the highest score of any ''Freedom''-variant LCS to date, earning the right to fly brooms atop her mast signifying a clean sweep of the ship's sea trials. The ship was delivered to the United States Navy on 25 September 2017.
The ship was
commissioned alongside the earlier at
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
on 16 December 2017. The commissioning ceremony marked the first time a U.S. Navy ship has commissioned next to her namesake.
After commissioning in Buffalo, New York, she headed to home port at
Mayport Naval Station
Naval Station Mayport is a major United States Navy base in Jacksonville, Florida. It contains a protected harbor that can accommodate aircraft carrier-size vessels, ship's intermediate maintenance activity (SIMA) and a military airfield (Admi ...
, Florida where she is
assigned to
Littoral Combat Ship Squadron Two
Naval Station Mayport is a major United States Navy base in Jacksonville, Florida. It contains a protected harbor that can accommodate aircraft carrier-size vessels, ship's intermediate maintenance activity (SIMA) and a military airfield (Admi ...
. However, harsh winter conditions caused delays, preventing her from leaving
St. Lawrence Seaway and she was stuck in ice at the port in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
. ''Little Rock'' remained there until 31 March 2018.
From 23 to 29 May 2018, ''Little Rock'' participated in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
's annual
Fleet Week celebrations. She was docked in
Staten Island and open to public tours during the time.
In January 2020 it was reported that the ship would be equipped with a laser weapon system, most likely the 150-kilowatt class HELIOS system developed by Lockheed Martin.
On 6 February 2020 ''Little Rock'' began its first deployment. Deployed to
U.S. Southern Command
The United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), located in Doral, Florida in Greater Miami, is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for providing contingency planning, o ...
, the ship is expected to conduct operations in support of the multinational campaign
Operation Martillo
Operation Martillo is an ongoing multi-national anti-drug operation that began on 15 January 2012, and "aims to combat international Illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, and promote peace, stability in Central America, Central and South America" ...
targeting international drug trafficking in Central American coastal waters. ''Little Rock'' deployed with the surface warfare mission-package and a U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement detachment.
''Little Rock'' was planned to be inactivated in FY 2022, and to join the Out of Commission in Reserve (OCIR) list, but in the final 2022 budget, Congress blocked the Navy's request to retire the ship.
U.S. Navy officials first announced in 2022 that nine ''Freedom''-class littoral combat ships would be decommissioned as part of the 2023 fiscal year budget. ''Little Rock'' was scheduled to be decommissioned on 31 March 2023 at Mayport Naval Station in Florida, but this was postponed to the last week of FY23.
''Little Rock'' was decommissioned at Mayport Naval Station on 29 September 2023. She will be moored at the Philidelphia Navy Yard, while a possible sale to a foreign military is arranged.
Gallery
File:Launch of USS Little Rock (LCS-9) at Marinette Marine in July 2015.jpg, Launch of ''Little Rock'' on 18 July 2015
File:USS Little Rock Buffalo Harbor 2.jpg, ''Little Rock'' enters Buffalo's Inner Harbor
File:LCS 9 Canalside.jpg, ''Little Rock'' docked at Canalside, Buffalo, New York
References
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External links
*
*
Commissioning website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Little Rock
Freedom-class littoral combat ships
Lockheed Martin
Ships built by Marinette Marine