The team of Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine handed the 11th Freedom-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) over to the U.S. Navy after completion of the modified combining gear system tests.
Naval Sea Systems Command said Thursday the acceptance of USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul delivery from the industry team at a Marinette, Wisconsin, facility is the first vessel in its class is the first Freedom-variant ship to undergo a system modification that addressed a defect.
The LCS 21 vessel is the Navy’s second vessel named after the Twin Cities. Defense News reports the Lockheed-led shipbuilding team worked to resolve a classwide flaw in the bearings that was discovered when the service tried a full-power operation.
“Based on the results of the land-based and at-sea testing, both Lockheed Martin and the Navy assessed that the combining gear design modification is satisfactory and, once installed, will allow unrestricted operations of Freedom-variant ships,” Rear Adm. Casey Moton, program executive officer for unmanned and small combatants at the Navy.