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DSEi Special Report
Lockheed Martin Tries to Lure International Customers for Littoral Combat Ship
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by Grace V. Jean
LONDON -- Lockheed Martin Corp. is advertising a “multi-mission” variant of the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship here in hopes of garnering international customers.
The company has come up with a design that differs from the modular, coastal water warship that the U.S. Navy is buying, says Paul Lemmo, vice president of business development at Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems and Sensors. He spoke with National Defense Sept. 9 at the DSEi international arms show.
The multi-mission variant will share the same hull as the U.S. version, which is designed with a large reconfigurable bay to accommodate one of three mission modules - antisubmarine warfare, mine warfare and anti-surface warfare.
The international LCS variant focuses on anti-air and surface warfare. With modifications, the ship also could perform anti-submarine and mine warfare missions and support special operations forces.
The flight deck on the aft of the ship would remain the same, but the superstructure would be altered to accommodate a fixed phased-array radar and vertical launch system for larger missiles.
Lemmo says that international navies prefer multi-mission ships, and such a version of LCS would appeal to military forces looking to buy a small quantity.
“They don’t have the luxury of being able to buy a whole fleet of modular ships that have minimum air defense capabilities. Most of what they buy are multi-mission ships,” he says.
Lemmo declined to disclose the price tag for the multi-mission variant for competitive reasons.
The cost cap on the U.S. Navy’s LCS hull is $460 million. The cost of the mission modules, being purchased under a separate contract, average approximately $60 million each. Lemmo says that the multi-mission version would not necessarily be cheaper, but that the cost would depend on the exact combat systems desired by a customer.
The Israeli Defense Forces are one potential buyer. Officials approached the company three years ago and provided funding to develop the multi-mission design. The ship was deemed too expensive, and the Israelis are evaluating it along with other options.
If Lockheed does receive orders for the multi-mission variant, it would not slow down the production of the U.S. Navy’s monohull LCS, which is being built by two shipyards.
“We think we have enough capacity to handle that without significantly impacting the U.S. Navy production,” Lemmo says.
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