Independence-class

Navy Awards 2 LCSs to Austal USA; Third FY 2019 Ship Still Being Negotiated

The future USS Charleston (LCS-18) during acceptance trials on July 18, 2018. Austal photo.

Austal USA was awarded two of the three Littoral Combat Ships the Navy can buy in Fiscal Year 2019, further increasing the number of Independence-variant LCSs the Navy will ultimately have in the fleet.

The Navy awarded contract to build LCS-36 and LCS-38 to the Mobile, Ala.-based company on Friday evening.

In a Monday statement, Austal highlighted the unprecedented calendar year it has had, delivering...

https://news.usni.org/2018/12/17/navy-awards-2-lcss-austal-usa-third-fy-2019-ship-still-negotiated

Littoral Combat Ship Report to Congress

The following is the Oct. 22, 2018 Congressional Research Service report, Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background and Issues for Congress.

The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is a relatively inexpensive surface combatant equipped with modular mission packages. Navy plans call for procuring a total of 32 LCSs. The first LCS was procured in FY2005, and the Navy’s proposed FY2018 budget requested the procurement of the 30th and 31st LCSs. As part of its action on the Navy’s proposed FY2018...

https://news.usni.org/2018/11/22/littoral-combat-ship-report-congress

Report to Congress on U.S. Navy Frigate (FFG(X)) Program

The following is the Oct. 22, 2018 Congressional Research Service report, Navy Frigate (FFG(X)) Program: Background and Issues for Congress.

The Navy in 2017 initiated a new program, called the FFG(X) program, to build a class of 20 guided-missile frigates (FFGs). The Navy wants to procure the first FFG(X) in FY2020, the second in FY2021, and the remaining 18 at a rate of two per year in FY2022-FY2030. The Navy’s proposed FY2019 budget requests $134.8 million in research and development funding...

https://news.usni.org/2018/10/24/report-congress-u-s-navy-frigate-ffgx-program-4

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