USS Little Rock underway on 16 February 2020
History
United States
NameLittle Rock
NamesakeLittle Rock
Awarded29 December 2010[1]
BuilderMarinette Marine[1]
Laid down27 June 2013[1]
Launched18 July 2015[2]
Sponsored byJanée L. Bonner[3]
Christened18 July 2015[3]
Acquired25 September 2017[4]
Commissioned16 December 2017
Decommissioned29 September 2023
HomeportMayport
Identification
MottoBack With A Vengeance[5]
StatusStricken, Final Disposition Pending[1]
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeFreedom-class littoral combat ship
Displacement3,500 metric tons (3,900 short tons) full load[6]
Length378.3 ft (115.3 m)
Beam57.4 ft (17.5 m)
Draft13.0 ft (4.0 m)
Installed power4 Isotta Fraschini V1708 diesel engines with Hitzinger generator units rated at 800 kW each.
Propulsion2 Rolls-Royce MT30 36 MW gas turbines, 2 Colt-Pielstick diesel engines, 4 Rolls-Royce waterjets
Speed45 knots (52 mph; 83 km/h) (sea state 3)
Range3,500 nmi (6,500 km) at 18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h)[7]
Endurance21 days (336 hours)
Boats & landing
craft carried		11 m RHIB, 40 ft (12 m) high-speed boats
Complement15 to 50 core crew, 75 mission crew (Blue and Gold crews)
Armament
Aircraft carried
Aviation facilitiesFlight deck, hangar

USS Little Rock (LCS-9) was a Freedom-class littoral combat ship (LCS) of the United States Navy.[1][8] She is the second ship named after Little Rock, the capital city of Arkansas.[9]

Design

In 2002, the U.S. Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.[10] The Navy initially ordered two monohull ships from Lockheed Martin, which became known as the Freedom-class littoral combat ships after the first ship of the class, USS Freedom.[10][11] Odd-numbered U.S. Navy littoral combat ships are built using the Freedom-class monohull design, while even-numbered ships are based on a competing design, the trimaran hull Independence-class littoral combat ship from General Dynamics.[10] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Freedom-class design.[10]  Little Rock is the fifth Freedom-class littoral combat ship to be built.

Little Rock includes additional stability improvements over the original Freedom design; the stern transom was lengthened and buoyancy tanks were added to the stern to increase weight service and enhance stability.[12] The ship will also feature automated sensors to allow "conditions-based maintenance" and reduce crew overwork and fatigue issues that Freedom had on her first deployment.[13]

Construction and career

Little Rock in Buffalo

The ship's estimated construction costs are between $300 million and $350 million.[14][15] The keel laying ceremony for Little Rock was on 27 June 2013. The mast stepping ceremony took place on 23 April 2015, followed by the christening ceremony on 18 July 2015.

On 25 August 2017, Little Rock, the fifth Freedom-variant LCS built by Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine, completed acceptance trials on Lake Michigan with the highest score of any Freedom-variant LCS to date, earning the right to fly brooms atop her mast signifying a clean sweep of the ship's sea trials.[16] The ship was delivered to the United States Navy on 25 September 2017.[4] The ship was commissioned alongside the earlier Galveston-class cruiser USS Little Rock at Buffalo, New York on 16 December 2017.[17] The commissioning ceremony marked the first time a U.S. Navy ship has commissioned next to her namesake.[18]

After commissioning in Buffalo, New York, she headed to home port at Mayport Naval Station, Florida where she is assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron Two. However, harsh winter conditions caused delays, preventing her from leaving St. Lawrence Seaway and she was stuck in ice at the port in Montreal.[19][20] Little Rock remained there until 31 March 2018.[21]

From 23 to 29 May 2018, Little Rock participated in New York City's annual Fleet Week celebrations. She was docked in Staten Island and open to public tours during the time.[22]

In January 2020 it was reported that the ship would be equipped with a laser weapon system, most likely the 150-kilowatt class HELIOS system developed by Lockheed Martin.[23]

On 6 February 2020 Little Rock began its first deployment. Deployed to U.S. Southern Command, the ship is expected to conduct operations in support of the multinational campaign Operation Martillo targeting international drug trafficking in Central American coastal waters. Little Rock deployed with the surface warfare mission-package and a U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement detachment.[24]

Little Rock was planned to be inactivated in FY 2022, and to join the Out of Commission in Reserve (OCIR) list,[25] but in the final 2022 budget, Congress blocked the Navy's request to retire the ship.[26]

U.S. Navy officials first announced in 2022 that nine Freedom-class littoral combat ships would be decommissioned as part of the 2023 fiscal year budget. Little Rock was scheduled to be decommissioned on 31 March 2023 at Mayport Naval Station in Florida, but this was postponed to the last week of FY23.[27]

Little Rock was decommissioned at Mayport Naval Station on 29 September 2023. She will be moored at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, while a possible sale to a foreign military is arranged.[28]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Little Rock (LCS-9)". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "Lockheed Martin-Led Team Launches The Future USS Little Rock" (Press release). Lockheed Martin. 18 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Navy Announces Christening of Littoral Combat Ship Little Rock" (Press release). U.S. Department of Defense. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine deliver future USS Little Rock to U.S. Navy - Sep 25, 2017". Media - Lockheed Martin. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  5. ↑ "Littoral Warfare Ship Photo Index". www.navsource.org. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "Littoral Combat Ship Class - LCS". America's Navy. US Navy. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "LCS Littoral Combat Ship". Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
  8. ↑ "Marinette Marine to build USS Little Rock". Fox News. 15 July 2011. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011.
  9. ↑ "Navy Names Littoral Combat Ship Little Rock" (Press release). U.S. Department of Defense. 15 July 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "US Navy Fact File: Littoral Combat Ship Class – LCS". US Navy. Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  11. ↑ O'Rourke, Ronald (4 May 2010). "Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  12. ↑ Osborn, Kris (27 June 2014). "Navy Engineers LCS Changes". www.dodbuzz.com. Monster. Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  13. ↑ Freedberg Jr., Sydney J. (4 April 2014). "Sleepless In Singapore: LCS Is Undermanned & Overworked, Says GAO". breakingdefense.com. Breaking Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  14. ↑ Mays, Gabrielle (18 October 2014). "Future USS Detroit launched at Marinette Marine shipyard". Fox 11. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  15. ↑ Friedman, Norman (23 December 2013). "USS Little Rock, from Light to Guided Missile Cruiser: Lessons for the Littoral Combat Ship". Breaking Defense. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  16. ↑ Lampe, Ellen (1 September 2017). "New USS Little Rock One Step Closer to Joining Fleet". ARKANSASMATTERS. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  17. ↑ "Navy Accepts Delivery of Future USS Little Rock". Naval Sea Systems Command. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  18. ↑ Robbins, Samantha (18 December 2017). "Navy Commissions Newest Littoral Combat Ship USS Little Rock (LCS 9)". US Navy. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  19. ↑ Woody, Christopher (11 January 2018). "The US Navy's newest warship is stuck in Canada because of ice". Business Insider. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  20. ↑ The Canadian Press (21 January 2018). "A U.S. Navy ship is trapped in Montreal until spring due to icy waters". CBC News. CBC. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  21. ↑ Lowrie, Morgan (31 March 2018). "U.S. warship trapped by ice in Montreal for 3 months resumes trip home". Toronto Star. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  22. ↑ "Fleet Week New York | Ships/Units". militarynews.com. Archived from the original on 16 June 2016.
  23. ↑ "Littoral Combat Ship Will Field Laser Weapon as Part of Lockheed Martin, Navy Test". USNI News. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  24. ↑ "USS Little Rock Departs on Maiden Deployment" (Press release). US Navy. 6 February 2020. NNS200206-08. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  25. ↑ Manaranche, Martin (18 June 2021). "U.S. Navy Issues FY22 Shipbuilding And Decommissioning Totals To Congress". Naval News. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  26. ↑ LaGrone, Sam (10 March 2022). "Last Minute FY 22 $728.5B Defense Bill Funds 13 Navy Ships, 12 F/A-18s; Saves 3 LCS From Decommissioning". news.usni.org. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  27. ↑ "Navy to Decommission Littoral Combat Ships USS Little Rock, USS Detroit This Week". usni.org. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  28. ↑ "USS Little Rock LCS #9, which cost $350 million, is decommissioned by U.S. Navy after 6 years of service". wgrz.com. 29 September 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
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