BAE to provide communications, gun systems for US Navy's LCSs

ARLINGTON (BNS): British defence firm BAE Systems will provide the external communications and primary gun systems for the 10 littoral combat ships (LCS) to be built by Austal USA for the US Navy.

A subcontractor to General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems which has been awarded a contract from Austal to be the Platform Systems Engineering Agent for the new class of ships, BAE Systems will design, install, integrate and test various communications systems for the LCSs.

Austal receives $368 mln LCS 8 contract from US Navy

WASHINGTON (BNS): US Navy has awarded a USD$368.6 million contract to Austal for the construction of a fourth 127-metre trimaran Independence-Class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS 8).

Recently, Austal has received a USD$3.5 billion contract from US Navy for the construction of additional 10 Littoral Combat Ships in five years.

Once commissioned, these 10 ships will join the Austal-built USS Independence (LCS 2) which was commissioned in January 2010.

Lockheed Martin Receives $376 Million to Construct Nation’s Next Littoral Combat Ship

WASHINGTON | The U.S. Navy has awarded a Lockheed Martin-led industry team $376 million to construct the nation’s seventh Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). 

The fixed-price-incentive-fee contract provides funding for the second of 10 ships the Navy awarded to the Lockheed Martin team in December 2010. The contracts for the remaining eight ships will be awarded through 2015. Marinette Marine Corporation, a Fincantieri company, will construct the ships in Marinette, Wis., and naval architect Gibbs & Cox will provide engineering and design support. 

Lockheed bags contract to build next LCS for US Navy

WASHINGTON (BNS): Lockheed Martin has bagged a $376 million contract from the US Navy to construct the seventh Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) for it.

The fixed-price-incentive-fee contract provides funding for the second of 10 such ships the Navy awarded to the Lockheed Martin team in December 2010. 

The contracts for the remaining eight ships will be awarded through 2015, Lockheed said.

Fiscal Year 2011 Littoral Combat Ship Contract Awards Announced

Contract modifications were issued to Lockheed Martin Corporation and Austal USA March 17, under their respective Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) block buy contracts to add funding for construction of one fiscal year 2011 Littoral Combat Ship each.

This is the second ship fully funded for each contractor under its previously-awarded, fixed-price incentive "block buy" contract for the design and construction of up to ten LCS Flight 0+ ships. The two block buy contracts provide for the acquisition of a total of up to 20 LCS from fiscal year 2010 through fiscal year 2015, subject to availability of appropriations.

US Navy awards LCS contract to Austal and Lockheed

WASHINGTON (BNS): The US Navy has awarded Austal USA and Lockheed Martin Corporation each a fixed-price incentive contract for the design and construction of a 10 ship block-buy, for a total of 20 littoral combat ships (LCS) from fiscal 2010 through fiscal 2015.

"The awards represent a unique and valuable opportunity to lock in the benefits of competition and provide needed ships to our fleet in a timely and extraordinarily cost-effective manner," US Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in a statement.

The amount awarded to Austal USA is $432 million and the amount awarded to Lockheed Martin is $437 million. The contract includes options for nine additional vessels in the following five years.

The new contracts give each shipbuilding team one ship to build now, with another in 2011. Two more per year for each team will follow in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Lockheed will build a single-hull LCS, while Austal will provide a trimaran -- three hulls side by side. Both versions will weigh around 3,000 tonnes, have a top speed of 40 knots (74 kilometers per hour) and carry a helicopter, the statement said.

When all 10 ships of each block purchase are awarded, the value of the ship construction portion of the two contracts would be 3.6 billion dollars for Lockheed Martin and 3.5 billion for Austal USA.

"The LCS is uniquely designed to win against 21st century threats in coastal waters posed by increasingly capable submarines, mines and swarming small craft," Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary Roughead, was quoted as saying in the statement.

Related Photos

The littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) operates off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii, during the at-sea phase of Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2010, the world's largest international maritime exercise. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Ed Early/Released)







The Navy's newest littoral combat ship USS Independence (LCS 2) arrives at Mole Pier at Naval Air Station Key West. Independence is on the way to Norfolk, Va., for commencement of initial testing and evaluation of the aluminum vessel before sailing to its homeport in San Diego. Independence is a fast, agile, mission-focused ship specifically designed to defeat "anti-access" threats in shallow, coastal water regions, including surface craft, diesel submarines and mines. (U.S. Navy photo by Naval Air Crewman 2nd Class Nicholas Kontodiakos/Released)




The littoral combat ship Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Fort Worth (LCS 3) is launched into the Menominee River during a christening ceremony for the navy's third littoral combat ship. Fort Worth will continue to undergo outfitting and testing at Marinette Marine before delivery to the Navy in 2012. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin/Released)

A composite photograph of the littoral combat ships USS Freedom (LCS 1), top, and USS Independence (LCS 2) provided by Naval Surface Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet shows the two ships underway. (U.S. Navy photo illustration/Released)