The U.S. Navy will modify the number of mission equipment that the service branch plans to buy for the Freedom– and Independence-class littoral combat ships in the fiscal year 2019 budget, Defense News reported Tuesday.Capt. Ted Zobel, LCS mission module program manager, told reporters that the Navy will unveil changes to the planned acquisition of three LCS mission modules during the release of the FY 2019 budget request.
Zobel did not specify which mission modules would be increased or lessened, but stated that the changes resulted from the Navy’s decision to acquire 32 LCS instead of 55 and to install semi-permanent mission equipment instead of fielding interchangeable packages as originally planned.
The three mission modules are comprised of weapons, sensors and unmanned systems meant to support surface warfare, mine countermeasures and anti-submarine warfare, the report noted.
Lockheed Martin leads work on the Freedom-class LCS, while an Austal USA-led team builds the Independence variant ships.
