The U.S. Navy Operates Its Newest Littoral Combat Ship, The Uss Nantucket
The Navy’s newest ship has been commissioned alongside the fleet’s oldest ship. The U.S. Navy has welcomed another littoral combat ship to its ranks. The Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Nantucket was commissioned on Saturday, November 16, at the Charlestown Naval Shipyard in Boston.
The Nantucket entered service while maintaining a strict bond with the oldest Navy ship in service, the USS Constitution. The wooden sloop, which carries sailors, starkly contrasts the Freedom-class littoral combat ships, considered the future of naval strategy and technology at the turn of the century. Now, the Navy is working to phase out the LCSs.
Despite the program’s problems, speakers on Saturday praised the new ship and its crew. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey called it “a high-tech, fast, agile ship that is capable of success in the most challenging environments.”
The USS Nantucket is one of 16 Freedom-class littoral combat ships built for the Navy. She was christened and launched in 2021. The ship is set to enter service after years of sea trials, but the entire LCS program remains plagued by widespread problems, including cost overruns, mechanical failures, and increasing obsolescence.
Both the Government Accountability Office and ProPublica have documented major flaws in the software that have led to multiple crashes and reliance on outside contractors for maintenance. The Navy has tried to correct some of the flaws and distance itself from the ship.
The LCS program was launched in the early 2000s when the U.S. military was focused on striking irregular warfare targets with the strategic goal of counterinsurgency. The class, designed to operate close to the coast but capable of participating in conflicts on the high seas, eventually fell out of favor as the Navy shifted from a counterinsurgency strategy to a peer-to-peer strategy. As a result, the Navy established bases in the Pacific and continued to order missile carriers. As a result, the Navy wants to sell many of the ships.
Angela Eckelmann, the ship’s executive commander, said Saturday that the ship is “battle-tested and ready.” Despite the emphasis on the LCS design, the USS Nantucket is equipped with long-range combat capabilities. The ship’s most notable weapon system is the Over-the-Horizon Weapon System (OTH-WS), which is equipped with Navy anti-ship missiles (NSM) capable of striking targets at long ranges.
The Navy’s newest ship is the third to bear the name of the city of Nantucket. The name’s history in the Navy dates back to the Civil War when the Union commissioned a Pasiak-class coastal patrol ship. The ship went into battle off the southern coast. It continued to serve for many years, briefly changing names before being renamed the USS Nantucket.
Despite the Navy’s efforts to abandon these ships, two Freedom-class littoral combat ships remain in service, the USS Beloit and the USS Cleveland. The USS Beloit is set to be commissioned later this month. The USS Pierre is the last Independence-class ship still in service, following the commissioning of the USS Kingsville in August. The USS Nantucket, currently in service, will be based at Naval Station Mayport, Florida.
