The nation’s third littoral combat ship, the Fort Worth, was launched this morning at the Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette, Wis.
The ship is one of three that has been built by a team led by Lockheed Martin. Marinette Marine Corp. is a member of that team.
Prior to constructing Fort Worth, the team designed and constructed USS Freedom (LCS 1), which was deployed in February and is now based in its homeport of San Diego, Calif. USS Freedom was christened in 2006 and delivered to the Navy in 2008.
Now that it is formally christened and launched, Fort Worth will continue to undergo outfitting and testing at Marinette Marine before delivery to the Navy in 2012.
"It is an incredibly rewarding experience to see Fort Worth launch into the water — on time and on budget," said Orlando Carvalho, president of Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems and Sensors business. "The team’s strong performance and hard work in bringing Fort Worth to this point illustrates our ability to meet the Navy’s need for a class of affordable, multi-mission combatants."
