The Navy, on Nov. 8, will commission its first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), Freedom, beginning an intensive evaluation period in which the LCS will be tested with three tailor-made mission packages - for mine countermeasures (MCM), surface warfare and antisubmarine warfare (ASW) - that will define its roles in the fleet. Freedom, built by a team led by Lockheed Martin, will be commissioned in ceremonies in Milwaukee. The second LCS, Independence, a trimaran design built by a team led by General Dynamics, was launched at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala., April 29 and is scheduled for sea trials this winter. Each of the ships will be evaluated beginning in 2009 with the mission packages.
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