Andrea Shalal writes that the Navy formed a task force to review the Littoral Combat Ship program and will consider industry’s recommendations when it prepares a fiscal 2016 budget plan.
Joe North, Lockheed vice president for littoral ship systems, said the company’s submission features several “low-risk” options designed to help the service evolve an existing LCS steel monohull designed by the company, according to Reuters.
“We’re basically doing a spiral design that offers them different configurations, based on what they may want, ” North added, according to the article.
Shalal reports that Lockheed-built monohull ship has 180 metric tons of extra space for interchangeable equipment and permanent defense systems.
Lockheed also provided the Navy with data on a $700 million LCS variant that is built with a larger hull and an Aegis weapon system.
Austal has submitted its aluminum trimaran boat designed with technologies such as array sonar, torpedoes and surface-to-surface missiles, Shalal writes.