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Freedom hums as main engines complete testing
The 378-foot semi-planing steel monohull Freedom is being built by the Lockheed Martin-led team to help the US Navy defeat growing littoral - or close-to-shore - threats and provide access and dominance in coastal water battlespace. Once complete, Freedom will be a fast, manoeuvrable and networked surface combatant with operational flexibility to execute focused missions, such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare and humanitarian relief. LCS brings a combination of high speed, manoeuvrability and a shallow draft, brought together in a special hull form, to enable it to carry out these missions. Recently, the sound of steadily humming engines could be heard aboard Freedom as the ship's two Fairbanks Morse diesel engines demonstrated excellent performance during testing. The team monitored the performance of the diesel engines, which can provide more than 17,000 brake horsepower (bhp) for the ship, at various speeds to ensure they met the Navy's performance requirements. The engines will help to power the ship at cruise speeds out to ranges exceeding 3,500 nautical miles. Freedom's newpropulsion system is a combined diesel and gas turbine plant which drives steerable water jets, allowing the ship to sustain sprint speeds over 40 knots. The two Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbines aboard Freedom are the largest gas turbines ever to be installed on a Navy ship. Two fixed and two steerable Rolls-Royce water jets - the first of their size to ever be installed on a Navy ship - will improve manoeuvrability. Testing and outfitting of Freedom continues dockside at Marinette Marine, in Marinette, Wisconsin in preparation for sea trials. Freedom will be delivered to the US Navy in 2008 and will be homeported in San Diego. Team members also includes naval architect Gibbs & Cox, ship builders Marinette Marine and Bollinger Shipyards.
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The Lockheed Martin-led LCS team recently completed another milestone in the production of thefirst Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) with the light off and testing of Freedom (LCS 1)'s main propulsion diesel engines.