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Vice Adm. Willy Hilarides: Navy to Modify Littoral Combat Ships

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Littoral Combat ShipThe U.S. Navy‘s Littoral Combat Ships will undergo a set of design and engineering updates as part of the platform’s long-term development following the completion of the Freedom (LCS 1) and Independence (LCS 2) vessels, DoD Buzz reported Friday.

Kris Osborn writes that the branch is implementing up to 12 major modifications for the LCS platforms, citing comments by Vice Adm. Willy Hilarides, commander of the Naval Sea Systems Command.

“We forget that we decided to take LCS 1 and 2 and deliver them as ships to the fleet, long before the design was mature — so that we design the right class of ships for the long term,” Hilarides said.

He noted the first two ships’ deployment was intended to help pinpoint and correct problems, which formed the basis for some of the planned platform upgrades.

NAVSEA spokesman Dale Eng identified changes to the Freedom-class ships as being for the anchor windlass, the impressed current cathodic protection system, the stern transom and the gas turbine electric start system.

For the Independence LCS variant, Eng said modification areas include the bridge wings, rigid hull inflatable boats, water jets, the anchor’s winch control system, the mission bay side door and the platform lift elevator.

The Navy expects to commission up to 32 surface, countermine and anti-submarine warfare LCS vessels, which were designed to integrate or adapt to new technologies and future modifications, the report said.

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