The U.S. Navy is moving to retire several Littoral Combat Ships after barely a decade in service, an unusually early exit for frontline warships. -Conceived as fast, modular coastal combatants, the ...

Littoral combat ships are prized for their abilities in coastal areas and open ocean, but the Freedom variant was quickly ...

The Navy's 16th and last Freedom-variant littoral combat ship will be the fourth commissioned ship since World War I to be ...

USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul, a Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship, made two drug busts within 72 hours, seizing more than $9.5 million of cocaine and roughly $2.8 million of marijuana. The ...

On November 26, 2025, the U.S. Navy announced the delivery of the final Freedom-Variant Littoral Combat Ship, the USS ...

The vessel will conduct maritime security operations, sea control, and deterrence activities in crucial operational areas.

Austal USA delivered the final Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship to the Navy Friday, the shipbuilder announced. Future USS Pierre (LCS-38), the second U.S. ship to be named after South Dakota’s ...

Shipbuilder Austal USA delivered the final Independence-class littoral combat ship to the U.S. Navy on Friday, marking the end of a construction phase that’s lasted 15 years. The Alabama-based Austal ...

July 28, 2025: U.S. Navy is allowing the Marine Corps to have several trimaran Independence class Littoral Combat Ships/LCS ships as Littoral Explosive Ordnance Neutralization/LEON vessels. In plant ...

Naval Station Mayport’s littoral combat ship fleet is smaller than it has been in years following the decommissioning of two vessels Friday, raising to four the number retired since August. Four other ...

Both LCS designs were supposed to be for ships displacing 2,500 tons, with a full load draft of under 3.3 meters, permitting access to very shallow green and even brown coastal and riverine waters ...

However, the US Navy still has a requirement for 73 small surface combatants. It is reportedly in the middle of a fleet design review to assess how the service will develop these—but given the ...