Sailors assigned to the USS Little Rock (LCS 9) man the ship’s rails during the commissioning ceremony. Credit: Lockheed Martin.

The US Navy has commissioned its fifth Freedom-class littoral combat ship, the USS Little Rock (LCS 9), during a ceremony at the Canalside waterfront in Buffalo, New York.

USS Little Rock was designed and developed by Lockheed Martin and is the tenth LCS to enter the US Navy fleet, as well as the second vessel to be named in honour of the Arkansas state capital.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all
"We take great pride in knowing that USS Little Rock and her dedicated crew will serve in the defence of our great nation."

US Navy secretary Richard V. Spencer said: “The future USS Little Rock represents much more than the state capital of Arkansas, it represents service.”

Spencer added: “Once commissioned, this ship will provide presence around the globe for decades to come.”

LCS 9 completed its sea acceptance trials in August and was subsequently delivered to the navy on 25 September.

With its commissioning, the newest ship joins the US Navy’s four other Freedom-variant vessels, USS Freedom (LCS 1), USS Fort Worth (LCS 3), USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) and USS Detroit (LCS 7).

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

USS Little Rock is also set to join LCS 5 and LCS 7 at its homeport in Naval Station Mayport in the coming weeks.

Lockheed Martin Small Surface Combatants and Ship Systems vice-president Joe DePietro said: “We take great pride in knowing that USS Little Rock and her dedicated crew will serve in the defence of our great nation, enabling the US Navy to carry out its missions where and when needed for decades to come.”

LCS is a modular, reconfigurable vessel that has been specifically designed to address validated fleet requirements for surface warfare (SUW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and mine countermeasures (MCM) missions in the littoral region.

The team developing the Freedom-class LCSs comprises Lockheed Martin, Fincantieri Marinette Marine and Gibbs & Cox, in addition to more than 800 suppliers across 42 US states.

LCS 9 was launched on 18 July 2015.