Fincantieri to Build LCS 31

The U.S. Navy has awarded a shipbuilding contract to a consortium consisting of Fincantieri, through its subsidiary Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM), and Lockheed Martin Corporation, to build an additional vessel as part of its Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program.

LCS 31 will be the 16th Freedom-variant LCS, one of the U.S. Navy’s main shipbuilding programs. The Fincantieri and Lockheed Martin team is in full-rate production of the Freedom-variant, and has delivered seven ships to the U.S. Navy to date. There are seven ships in various stages of construction at Fincantieri Marinette Marine.

The construction contract for the LCS Program Freedom-variant was awarded to FMM in 2010, within the partnership by Lockheed Martin.

The builder describes LCS as a new generation of mid-sized multirole vessels, designed for surveillance activities and coastal defense for deep water operations as well as capabilities for addressing asymmetrical threats such as mines, silent diesel submarines and fast surface ships.