The U.S. Navy in late 2010 awarded contracts to the two teams building the new Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) for ten platforms each. These were Lockheed Martin (LMT) whose mono-hull design will be built at the Marinette Marine yard in Wisconsin and Austal America in Mobile, AL. Austal America is the U.S. subsidy of Austal (ASB) the Australian manufacturer of fast ferries. The Austal design utilizes a catamaran hull.
Prior to these contracts each team was building two of the small warships. They have received orders under the new contract for two more and last week the Navy issued Lockheed a contract worth about $700 million for two more. This brings the total of LCS under order from Lockheed to six.
The Navy ultimately plans to operate 30 or more of the ships. They are designed to be equipped with different mission packages depending on the requirements. This includes anti-air, anti-ship and mind warfare among others. Like their name implies they are optimized for in-shore activities such as anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean and special warfare.
Even though the defense budget is being cut the Navy remains committed to building substantial numbers of the ship. The fact that it is built in smaller yards allows such construction.
