She is Ready! Minneapolis-Saint Paul II (LCS-21)to be Commissioned
The Navy will christen its newest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship (LCS), the future
during a 10 a.m. CDT ceremony Saturday, June 15, in Marinette, Wisconsin.
U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota will deliver the christening ceremony’s principal address. Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy Jodi Greene will serve as the ship’s sponsor. In a time-honored Navy tradition, Ms. Greene will christen the ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow.
“The christening of the future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul marks an important step toward this great ship’s entry into the fleet,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “The dedication and skilled work of our industry partners have ensured this ship will represent the great city of Minneapolis-Saint Paul and serve our Navy and Marine Corps team for decades to come.”
The future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul is a fast, agile, focused-mission platform designed for operation in near-shore environments yet capable of open-ocean operation. It is designed to defeat asymmetric “anti-access” threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft. The ship will be homeported in Mayport, Florida.
The LCS class consists of two variants, the Freedom variant and the Independence variant, designed and built by two industry teams. The Freedom variant team is led by Lockheed Martin in Marinette, Wisconsin (for the odd-numbered hulls). The Independence variant team is led by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama (for LCS 6 and the subsequent even-numbered hulls).
LCS 21 is the 11th Freedom-variant LCS, the 21st in the class. She is the second ship named in honor of Minnesota’s twin cities. The first was a Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine that served from 1984 to 2008. Two U.S. Navy ships have been named for Minneapolis and two for St. Paul. The first Minneapolis was a cruiser commissioned from 1894 until 1921. The second Minneapolis was a New Orleans-class cruiser commissioned in 1934, earning 16 battle stars for World War II service by 1946, when it was decommissioned. The first St. Paul, a passenger liner chartered by the Navy, served in the Spanish-American War and in World War I. The second St. Paul was a Baltimore-class cruiser commissioned in 1945, earned one battle star for World War II service, eight battle stars for Korean service, and eight battle stars for Vietnam service by the time it was decommissioned in 1971.
History
The second U.S. Navy ship named for Minneapolis/Saint Paul — known as the “Twin Cities” — in southeast Minnesota. Saint Paul is also the capital of the state. The first Minneapolis-St. Paul, an attack submarine (SSN-708), served from 1984–2008.
Two other ships have been named for Minneapolis. The first Minneapolis (Cruiser No. 13) served from 1894–1921. The second, heavy cruiser Minneapolis (CA-36), served from 1934–1947.
In addition, two ships have been named for St. Paul. The first Saint Paul, a steel passenger liner, retained her mercantile name in United States service, and served as an auxiliary cruiser in 1898 and from 1917–1919. The second, heavy cruiser St. Paul (CA-73), was ordered as Rochester but renamed St. Paul on 26 November 1942, and served from 1945–1971.
Heavy cruiser Quincy (CA-71) was laid down on 9 October 1941 as St. Paul, but was renamed on 16 October 1942, prior to launching, to perpetuate the name of the second Quincy (CA-39), a heavy cruiser lost at the Battle of Savo Island on 9 August 1942.
II
(LCS-21: displacement 3,450; length 387.6′; beam 57.7′; draft 14.1′; speed 40+ knots; complement 45+ augmentees that can include an aviation detachment, maritime security mission package, and a Coast Guard law enforcement detachment; armament 1 Mk 110 57 millimeter gun, RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM), 2 Mk 44 30 millimeter Bushmaster II guns, and 4 .50 caliber machine guns; aircraft 1 Sikorsky MH-60R/S Seahawk and 1 Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout; class Freedom)
The Navy awarded Marinette Marine Corp. (Lockheed Martin) the contract to build LCS-21 at Marinette, Wisc., on 29 December 2010; Secretary of the Navy Raymond E. Mabus Jr., announced the name Minneapolis/St. Paul for LCS-21 on 8 September 2015; she was subsequently renamed Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS-21); laid down on 22 February 2018; and Mrs. Jodi Greene, Deputy Undersecretary of the Navy for Policy, is the ship’s sponsor.
Mark L. Evans
26 February 2018 Navy.mil
LITTORAL COMBAT SHIP CLASS – LCS |
| Description LCS is a fast, agile, mission-focused- platform designed for operation in near-shore environments yet capable of open-ocean operation. It is designed to defeat asymmetric “anti-access” threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft. The LCS class consists of two variants, the Freedom variant and the Independence variant, designed and built by two industry teams. The Freedom variant team is led by Lockheed Martin (for the odd-numbered hulls, e.g. LCS 1). It is a steel monohull design constructed by Lockheed Martin in the Fincantieri Marinette Marine Corporation’s shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin. The Independence variant is an aluminum trimaran design originally built by an industry team led by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works for LCS 2 and LCS 4. Currently, Independence variant LCS (LCS 6 and subsequent even-numbered hulls) are constructed by Austal USA in the company’s Mobile, Alabama, shipyard. LCSs are outfitted with mission packages (made up of mission systems and support equipment) that deploy manned and unmanned vehicles and sensors in support of mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare or surface warfare missions. FLEET INTRODUCTION AND SUSTAINMENT The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program is a departure from traditional Navy shipbuilding programs based on its use of innovative acquisition, construction, manning, training and operational concepts. The LCS sustainment strategy not only accommodates the unique design and minimal manning of LCS, but also the associated mission modules. Elements of this strategy include reliance on off-ship support, a paradigm of maintenance execution focused on monthly preventive maintenance periods, non-crew performance of preventive and facilities maintenance, a Blue and Gold crewing model and reliance on shore-based and virtual training for off-hull and pre-commissioning crews. LCS Fleet Introduction and Sustainment Program Office (PMS 505) was established in 2011 to consolidate all aspects of LCS sustainment, training and logistics into a single program office to streamline processes and personnel previously scattered across multiple ship classes and locations. The training and logistics branches of PMS 505 support the seaframe and mission package acquisition program offices to improve products and understanding from construction through fleet introduction and sustainment. With the plan for multiple ships and mission modules to deliver annually, consolidating these support functions was deemed the most efficient and cost effective solution, providing direct support to the acquisition manager during the acquisition phase, the production manager during the production phase, as well as the sustainment manager during in-service operations. Shore Support Under the LCS sustainment concept, many legacy shipboard functions of logistics, maintenance and training are moved ashore, thus removing these functions from the ship’s crew and allowing for a reduction in underway crew size. To support a minimally-manned ship, a modest shore support organization exists to provide the latest distance support tools. The Maintenance Support Team (MST) is the enabler for LCS distance support. MSTs coordinate with the Regional Maintenance Center (RMCs), Mission Package Support Facility (MPSF) and Mission Module Readiness Centers (MMRCs), and supply enterprise for all LCS maintenance and logistics issues. The staffs of the LCS Squadron (LCSRON), LCS Training Facility (LTF) and Surface Ship Type Commander (TYCOM) Afloat Training Group (ATG) provide training and certification functions. There are three primary facilities designed to support LCS. The LCS Support Facility (LSF), has offices for the LCSRON staff, off-ship core crews and mission package (MP) detachments and pre-commissioning crews. The LTF houses key training equipment for qualification and certification of crews and detachments. The MPSF and MMRCs provide sustainment and depot maintenance support for mission modules. In concert with LCSRON commodore, these three organizational elements fully support the ships and mission modules at home and deployed. Maintenance Unlike most surface ships, traditional crew level maintenance for LCS is pushed ashore and corrective maintenance is performed using distance support and fly-away teams. The LCS sustainment strategy calls for frequent maintenance periods as part of the ship’s operational schedule – normally five days per month for standard preventive maintenance and quarterly for more significant corrective maintenance. Much of the work accomplished during these planned maintenance availabilities (PMAVs) and continuous maintenance availabilities (CMAVs) is conducted by contracted U.S.-based maintenance teams. Support for deployed hulls is accomplished with tailored fly-away teams of U.S. contractors. Crewing LCS is moving toward a Blue/Gold crew model which alternate manning the ship. This concept creates six divisions (three per coast) comprised of four ships of the same variant – including one as a dedicated training ship, which will be manned by a traditional, single crew vice rotating crews. The training ship in each division will remain in the United States and operate in local areas to certify the six Blue/Gold crews that will operate the three deployed LCSs of each division. Each division will have a single warfare focus (surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare or mine warfare); the ship core crews and mission module detachments will be fused. This approach provides more forward presence with a better blend of ownership, stability, and increased training for each crew, while the divisions have improved oversight and reinforcement of the mission focus. Testing The first four ships of the LCS class- two of each variant- have been designated “test ships” to support the mission modules through Initial Operational Capability (IOC) testing. These ships will be dedicated to execute mission module test and evaluation, as new systems are procured or designed prior to deployment. While deployable, they are not expected to deploy until known mission modules achieve IOC later this decade. Training A key enabler of LCS rotational crewing is the LCS shore-based training and certification capability, which represents a significant advancement in the surface force approach to qualification of individual watchstanders and teams. Crew training is based on a virtual ship-centric concept, accomplished through a combination of classroom instruction, vendor training, shore-based trainers and sophisticated virtual reality training systems. This ensures LCS ships deploy with fully qualified sailors, a ship Key Performance Parameter, without hindering their ability to be adequately trained, as well as ensuring time spent on LCS is time operating LCS. |