Jim Murdoch News

Rear Adm. Jim Murdoch, 
Program Executive Officer for Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) comments on the recent sea trial of the future 'USS Coronado', which as with all new construction ships in the Navy was conducted by the Board of Inspection and Survey. This was INSURV’s second acceptance trials of an Independence-variant littoral combat ship. Key at-sea demonstrations included main propulsion full power, steering, anchoring, launch and recovery operations with both the 7- and 11-meter rigid hull inflatable boats, and surface detect-to-engage demonstrations.

The U.S. Navy and its shipbuilding partners have incorporated lessons learned from the first two Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) in the design and construction of the follow-on ships. “I think the lead ships are pretty good,” says Rear Adm. Jim Murdoch, the Program Executive Officer for LCS (PEO LCS). LCS 1 is the USS Freedom, built at Marinette Marine in Wisconsin by a team led by Lockheed Martin, and commissioned in November of 2008. The ship deployed to U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command as well as participated in the RIMPAC fleet exercises around Hawaii in 2010.

The keel for the future Littoral Combat Ship, USS Fort Worth (LCS 3), was laid July 11 during a ceremony at Marinette Marine Shipyard in Marinette, Wis. "Starting construction on the third ship is an exciting milestone to reach," said Capt. Jim Murdoch, LCS program manager within the Navy's Program Executive Office, Ships. LCS is a new breed of U.S. Navy warship, capable of open-ocean operation, but optimized for littoral or coastal missions. Operational experience and analyses indicate that potential adversaries will employ asymmetric means to deny U.S. and allied forces access into critical coastal regions, such as strategic chokepoints and vital economic sea lanes.

Lockheed Martin and Marinette Marine Corp. Testing of the Rolls Royce MT-30 gas turbine engine is a significant step as the ship prepares for sea trials this summer. Freedom, the first of a new class of littoral combat ships, will use these two gas turbine engines and two main propulsion diesel engines to power the ship's steerable water jets, a first for a U.S. Navy ship, and propel the ship at speeds of more than 40 knots. "This was an important milestone," said LCS Program Manager Capt. Jim Murdoch. Freedom will continue to perform dock-side tests and evaluations as it prepares for its summer sea trials. The Navy expects to accept delivery of the ship and commission it later this year. LCS is a new breed of U.S.