The latest littoral combat ship, future USS Wichita completes acceptance trials on Lake Michigan
LCS 13, the future USS Wichita, is the seventh Freedom-variant LCS designed and built by Lockheed Martin.
The trails were conducted July 9-12 on Lake Michigan. Major systems were tested, including aviation support and small boat launch handling and recovery. “I am extremely proud of our LCS team including our shipbuilders at Fincantieri Marinette Marine,” said Jan Allman, Fincantieri Marinette Marine President and CEO. “These are complex vessels, and it takes a strong team effort to design, build and test these American warships.” LCS 13 is scheduled to be delivered to the U.S. Navy later this summer.
The next Freedom-variant in the class is LCS 15, the future USS Billings which is set to complete sea trials this year.