The first Littoral Combat Ship, Freedom (LCS 1) is the inaugural ship in an entirely new class of U.S. Navy surface warships. The agile 377-foot Freedom will help the U.S. Navy defeat growing littoral, or close-to-shore, threats and provide access and dominance in coastal water battle-space. Displacing 3,000 metric tons and with a capability of reaching speeds well over 40 knots, Freedom will be a fast, maneuverable and networked surface combatant with operational flexibility to execute focused missions, such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare and humanitarian relief.
Features: The LCS 1 FREEDOM class consists of two different hullforms – a semiplaning monohull and an aluminum trimaran – designed and built by two industry teams, respectively led by Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics. These seaframes will be outfitted with reconfigurable payloads, called Mission Packages, which can be changed out quickly. Mission packages are supported by special detachments that will deploy manned and unmanned vehicles and sensors in support of mine, undersea and surface warfare missions.
Background: Initiated in February 2002, the LCS program represents a significant reduction in time to acquire, design and build ships in comparison to any previous ship class. LCS 1, USS FREEDOM, the first Lockheed Martin Flight 0 ship is under construction at Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wisconsin. LCS 2, USS INDEPENDENCE, the first General Dynamics Flight 0 ship is under construction at Austal Shipyard in Mobile, Alabama.
Vandenberg Air Force Base Airmen successfully launched a Atlas V rocket carrying a National Reconnaissance Office payload from Space Launch Complex-3 at 3:01 a.m. PDT March 13 here.
The launch was the product of the combined efforts of officials from the 30th Space Wing, the National Reconnaissance Office, United Launch Alliance, the Space and Missile Systems Center, and the Aerospace Corporation.
Status: Milestone A (MS A). Request for Proposal (RFP) released 5 February 2008.
Background: USD(AT&L) Acquisition Decision Memorandum (ADM) dated 22 Dec 07, directed JLTV program to enter into the Technology Development Phase (TDP). The U.S. Army is the lead service with a Joint Program Office at TACOM (Michigan) under the leadership of the Program Executive Office for Combat Support / Combat Service Support (PEO CSS) and has an additional Program Office under the leadership of the Program Executive Officer Land Systems (PEO LS) Marine Corps at Quantico, Va.
The U.S. Army and Marine Corps co-hosted a three-day preproposal conference at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Mich., Feb. 19-21, to inform industry of the U.S. government’s acquisition strategy for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle Program.
JLTV is a Joint U.S. Army/U.S. Marine Corps program with the U.S. Army designated as the lead service.
What's worse than unleashing on society the wrath of the largest non-nuclear bomb yet to be made? Letting the world know it's out there and ready to be used at any moment.
The guided bomb unit-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb is a 21,600 pound, Global Positioning System-guided munition with precision guidance and architecture to be delivered accurately to enemy forces with the main intention of permanently disabling them. The goal was to put pressure on then-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to cease and desist United Nations violations.