вЂњThe littoral combat ship (LCS) is the first of a new family of surface ships for the US Navy.вЂќ The Lockheed Martin design of the mono-hull lifts the body of the hull. In both designs, the sprint speed ranging between 40k and 50k results in the body of the hull being lifted out of the water as much as possible. The design approach for the second-generation LCS, flight 1, ship acquisition is flexible and will take into consideration the experience gained in the flight 0 designs. The two designs use very different approaches for incorporating reconfigurable internal volume. However, the strategy for launch and recovery for waterborne craft and aircraft are different for each design. Both of them can effectively launch, control and recover vehicles for extended periods. The sea frames of both designs accommodate the equipment and crew for core LCS missions and special missions. The General Dynamics Independence-class design is a trimaran with a slender stabilised mono-hull. The Lockheed Martin Freedom-class design is a high-speed, semi-planing mono-hull. They achieve sprint speeds of over 40k and long-range transit distances of more than 3,500 miles. The two designs are quite different, although both satisfy the top-level performance requirements and technical requirements of the LCS programme. The Lockheed Martin-led team was awarded a contract to build LCS 31 in January 2019. The number of LCS ships is not finalised but speculated to be up to 60, within a total US naval fleet of 375 ships.ДЄustal secured a A$1.6bn ($1.16bn) contract to build LCS ships 32 and 34 in September 2018, followed by a contract for two additional ships, LCS 36 and 38, in December 2018.

Sprint layout dual side