“It takes us around 24 hours, and all we need in port is a forklift and a crane at any port facility in the world to put everything together, crane our package on, bolt it down, and then we’re a more advanced surface warfare capable ship for littoral warfare,” said Petty Officer First Class Justin Silva in a Navy video discussing the mission package concept.

During the RIMPAC exercise, USS Freedom operated with the surface warfare mission package. This package features weapons specialists; small-boat crews; and a visit, board, search and seizure team. With this mission package, USS Freedom and its crew conducted a series of maritime security exercises with vessels from international navies and a live-fire exercise with the MK-110 57mm gun.

RIMPAC is held biennially in Honolulu, Hawaii, and hosted by U.S. Pacific Fleet. During this year’s exercise, USS Freedom operated with air, land and maritime forces from 13 other nations.

Throughout RIMPAC, the ship and crew completed operational exercises, including a live-fire exercise with the MK-110 57mm gun, the launch of a Rolling Airframe Missile, and a maritime security exercise in which a team from the USS Lake Erie (CG 70) boarded USS Freedom.

“USS Freedom has performed beyond all expectations in RIMPAC 2010,” said Cmdr. Kris Doyle, commanding officer of Freedom’s Blue Crew, in a Navy video. “. . . We have been able to demonstrate capabilities in areas we that didn’t know we had capabilities . . . we are actually going beyond on our concept of operations for underway duration.”

To view a video of USS Freedom’s participation in RIMPAC 2010, click here.

USS Freedom recently arrived in its homeport of San Diego. Prior to participating in RIMPAC, Freedom completed a highly successful first deployment to the U.S. Southern and U.S. Pacific Command areas of responsibility. Throughout the deployment, the ship conducted counter-illicit trafficking operations, making four successful interdictions in which more than five tons of cocaine and two “go fast” drug vessels were seized, and nine suspected smugglers were taken into custody.

LCS 1 is the first of 55 the Navy plans for a new class of ships designed to operate in coastal waters.

In March, MMC broke ground for an expansion to nearly double the size of its main indoor ship construction building. The groundbreaking marked the latest in a recent series of investments made by the shipyard’s parent company, Fincantieri, as part of its five-year, $100 million plan to modernize its U.S shipbuilding operations and support the LCS program.

Since then, the project has progressed and the building’s steel structure is being constructed.

This phase of improvement will nearly double production square footage for MMC’s two large construction bays and allow the shipyard to construct LCS more cost effectively. For contracts such as the LCS, MMC will be able to have two complete hulls and parts for two other ships completely indoors at one time. The building enhancements also allow higher levels of pre-outfitting for MMC’s proven modular construction process.

“This is a terrific investment by Fincantieri and represents the commitment they’re willing to make to continue quality shipbuilding at Marinette Marine,” said Senator Herb Kohl of Wisconsin following the March groundbreaking ceremony. “It’s an investment in the men and women employed there, in the community that is so supportive of this company, and in their ability to give the Navy a well-built LCS at a competitive price.”

In the first phase of the investment program, the shipyard installed higher-capacity overhead cranes, plasma-cutting tables and pipe-bending machines to increase efficiency and capacity. In the third phase of improvements, the facility will strategically improve its panel line production facility and construct a new blasting and paint building.