US Navy Warship Undergoes Shock Trials

The Independence variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program continues to progress, with the U.S. Navy reporting that USS Jackson (LCS 6) has completed the first of three scheduled full ship shock trial (FSST) blasts – the first ship to do so since 2008. The shock trials are designed to demonstrate the ship’s ability to withstand the effects of nearby underwater explosions and retain required capability.

Furthermore, the U.S. Navy has modified shipbuilder Austal USA’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) contract to enable the procurement of a spare “Sea Giraffe” radar for the Independence variant LCS program, Austal Limited announced. The modification sees the LCS contract value increase by the fixed-price amount of $6,801,290, the shipbuilder said.

The future USS Montgomery (LCS 8) is scheduled for delivery to the U.S. Navy later this month, while six additional LCS vessels are at various stages of construction in Mobile, Ala. as part of an 11-ship contract worth over $3.5 billion.

Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10), Omaha (LCS 12) and Manchester (LCS 14) are all preparing for sea trials, while assembly is underway on Tulsa (LCS 16) and Charleston (LCS 18), and modules for Cincinnati (LCS 20) are under construction in Austal USA’s Module Manufacturing Facility (MMF).