USS ''Detroit'' (LCS-7) is the fourth littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the sixth ship to be named after the city of Detroit, Michigan.

Design

In 2002, the U.S. Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of

littoral combat ships 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 defea ...

. The Navy initially ordered two monohull ships from

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

, 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 A trimaran (or double-outrigger) is a multihull boat that comprises a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls (or "floats") which are attached to the main hull with lateral beams. Most modern trimarans are sailing yachts designed for recreati ...

hull from

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...

. The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the ''Freedom''-class design. ''Detroit'' is the fourth ''Freedom''-class littoral combat ship to be built. ''Detroit'' 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 ceremonial “laying of the keel” was in early November 2012 at the

Marinette Marine Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) is an American shipbuilding firm in Marinette, Wisconsin. Marinette Marine was a subsidiary of Manitowoc Marine Group of Wisconsin from 2000 to 2009, when it was sold to Fincantieri Marine Group. History M ...

shipyards in Marinette, Wisconsin. The ship was launched on 18 October 2014. The US Navy accepted ''Detroit'' into service on 12 August 2016; the ship was commissioned on 22 October 2016. 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 (A ...

. The ship is sponsored by Mrs. Barbara Levin (Wife of

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Carl Levin Carl Milton Levin (June 28, 1934 – July 29, 2021) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Michigan from 1979 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the chair of the Senate Armed Services C ...

) On 30 December 2016, ''Detroit'' participated in a homeport shift ceremony that took place at

Naval Station Mayport 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 ...

. The ship was previously scheduled to be based out of Naval Base San Diego but was reassigned while enroute. On 13 January 2017, ''Detroit'' completed her first flight deck evolutions to certify the flight deck for future air operations. The landings and

VERTREP Vertical replenishment, or VERTREP, is a method of supply of seaborne vessels by helicopter. The United States Department of Defense defines VERTREP as: ...the transfer of cargo between ships using helicopters. VERTREP is often used to supplement ...

were conducted by the "World Famous Swamp Foxes" of

HSM-74 Helicopter Maritime Strike Seven Four (HSM-74), the "Swamp Foxes", is a United States Navy helicopter squadron based at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida. HSM-74 is attached to Carrier Air Wing Three and deploys aboard cruise ...

. On 8 March 2017, ''Detroit'' fired a vertical-launched

AGM-114 Hellfire The AGM-114 Hellfire is an air-to-ground missile (AGM) first developed for anti-armor use, later developed for precision drone strikes against other target types, especially high-value targets. It was originally developed under the name '' Heli ...

missile, the first such launch from a littoral combat ship. The Hellfire system is meant to engage small vessels and strike targets on land. In January 2020, ''Detroit'' conducted freedom of navigation and intelligence-gathering operations in the Caribbean Sea. ''Detroit'', the fourth ship of the ''Freedom''-class, was planned to be inactivated in FY 2022, and to join the Out of Commission in Reserve (OCIR) list, along with three other ships in the class: , , and . However, in the final 2022 budget, Congress blocked the Navy's request to retire the three ships.

References

External links

Freedom-class littoral combat ships Lockheed Martin 2014 ships Ships built by Marinette Marine {{US-mil-ship-stub