Page 43: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2011)

November 2011www.marinelink.com 43Keel Laid for future USS MilwaukeeWorkers at the Marinette Marine Corp. shipyard in Marinette, Wis. authenticated the keel for LCS 5, the future USS Mil- waukee, during a short ceremony Oct. 27, recognizing the beginning of the ship's construction. "Starting construction on the fifth ship of the class is a significant step in the life of the program," said Rear Adm. Jim Murdoch, program executive officer for Littoral Combat Ships. "We've learned a number of key lessons from the con- struction of LCS 1 and 3 which will im-prove production of these vital fleet assets. We're committed to controlling shipbuilding costs and delivering these ships on time and within budget." LCS is a new breed of U.S. Navy war- ship, capable of open-ocean operation but optimized for littoral, or coastal, mis-sions. The Navy remains committed to a 55 ship LCS program and is leveraging competition, fixed-price contracting and serial production to reduce constructionduration and costs. Milwaukee is expected to deliver to the fleet in 2014. The ship will join USS Freedom (LCS 1), commissioned in2008; USS Independence (LCS 2), com-missioned in 2009, and the future USSFort Worth and USS Coronado, both under construction. USS Milwaukee, named in honor of the Wisconsin city of Milwaukee, will be 417 feet in length and capable of reachingspeeds in excess of 40 knots. PEO LCS, an affiliated Program Exec- utive Office of Naval Sea Systems Com- mand, provides a single Program Executive responsible for acquiring and sustaining mission capabilities of the Lit-toral Combat Ship class, beginning with procurement, and ending with fleet em-ployment and sustainment. The com- bined capability of LCS and LCS missionsystems is designed to dominate the lit-toral battle space and provide U. S. forces with assured access to coastal areas.Source: PEO LCS Public Affairs (Lockheed Martin photos) (Lockheed Martin photos) MR Nov.11 # 6 (42-49):MR Template 11/7/2011 1:47 PM Page 43