- Yes
- No
- Surface Warfare Mission Package
- Anti-Submarine Warfare Mission Package
- Mine Countermeasures Mission Package
- No mission packages
- I don’t want the ship
- No helicopter
- Available but unarmed
- Available and armed
- I don’t want the ship
USS Freedom (LCS-1), the lead ship of the Freedom-class
TL;DR: a very fast ship with a 57 mm gun, but could also carry fire-and-forget anti-ship missiles and helicopters that may be too overpowered right now.
The Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy, alongside her main competitor the Independence-class, represented the US Navy’s dream for a cheap vessel capable of doing almost any mission required in the anticipated low-intensity battlefields of the 21st century. Needless to say, they were wrong in almost every regard. As funds were cut and diverted to other projects (like the LCS’s successor, the Constellation-class frigates), planned orders were reduced and several vessels were retired early (in the most extreme case, USS Sioux City was decommissioned after less than 5 years of service).
The Freedom-class displaces 3,500 tons. She is powered by a CODAG arrangement and propelled by four pump-jets, allowing her to reach up to 87 km/h. She is armed with a Mk 110 57 mm gun that can fire advanced ammunition like proximity fused HE and guided shells, which would be deadly against small boats and aircraft. She also carries four .50 heavy machine guns and RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles (the latter can also engage aircraft and surface targets after the HAS mode update).
While these armaments are already capable of decimating any enemy smaller than a destroyer, the LCS can also be equipped with additional mission packages which would provide capabilities that may be too overpowered for War Thunder’s current environment. The Surface Warfare Mission Package includes two Mark 44 30 mm Bushmaster autocannons, AGM-114L Hellfire Longbow missiles and Naval Strike Missiles, allowing the LCS to even defeat some light cruisers (although it is unclear when and in what form the Hellfires and NSMs were added, so there may be some wriggle room there). The Anti-Submarine Warfare Mission Package contains several advanced sonar systems and torpedo countermeasures, which would make the detection of the World War II submarines expected soon trivial. Its MH-60R/S helicopter also carries Hellfire missiles and anti-submarine torpedoes. As ships in War Thunder are unlikely to acquire the capabilities to defend against such attacks for the foreseeable future, implementing the Freedom-class with just its baseline armament may be preferable.
History
With the end of the Cold War and the increase of relatively low-intensity conflicts in the Middle East, the US Navy decided that its mission should be shifting from fleet battles on the open sea to patrol and fire support missions in littoral waters. However, their large cruisers and destroyers designed for battle on the high seas would be vulnerable in complicated coastal environments, and included capabilities that were unnecessary in this new form of warfare which would only increase construction and maintenance costs. Therefore, the Navy planned a new kind of ship that would be smaller, cheaper, yet much more effective and flexible in littoral environments: the littoral combat ship.
In 2004, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and Raytheon submitted design proposals, of which Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics’ were selected. The Lockheed Martin design was named the Freedom-class and the General Dynamics design was named the Independence-class. The Freedom-class ships were the first to be constructed, with its lead ship USS Freedom (LCS-1) launched in 2006. Somewhat unusually, the Navy didn’t opt to choose a single design but instead chose to build both designs in quantity.
While it sounded like a great idea on paper, the littoral combat ship suffered from numerous issues throughout its construction and service. Budget overruns were the main issue, which was mostly attributable to requirement creep. They also suffered from low reliability. The “combination gear” on the Freedom-class, a part of the transmission needed for the ship to exceed 12 knots, was faulty. In 2020, both USS Little Rock and USS Detroit suffered transmission, the latter happening while on deployment, forcing it to limp home from South America for repairs. The crew size, intended to be kept small by the use of automation, was found to be inadequate and eventually had to be almost doubled. Finally, the possibility of high-intensity warfare had increased significantly since the end of the Cold War, and the LCS would be of limited use in such scenarios. In the end, the US Navy ditched the LCS concept and went for a more conventional frigate, the Constellation-class.
Specifications
Compliment: 50 core crew, 98 maximum
Length: 115 m
Beam: 17.5 m
Displacement: 3,500 metric tons
Power: 2 × Rolls-Royce MT30 36 MW (48,000 hp) gas turbines, 2 × Colt-Pielstick 16PA6B 6.8 MW (9,100 hp) diesel engines
Propulsion: 4 Rolls-Royce/Kamewa 153SII/153BII waterjets
Electronics:
- EADS North America TRS-3D air and surface search radar
- Argon ST WBR-2000 ESM system
- Terma A/S SKWS decoy system
Baseline armament:
- 1x 57 mm Mk 110 gun
- 4x .50 HMG
- 1x Mk 49 launcher for 21 RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles (may have been replaced later by SeaRAM)
Surface Warfare Mission Package:
- 2x 30 mm Mk 44 Bushmaster II autocannons
- 24x Hellfire Longbow missiles
- 8x Naval Strike Missiles
- MH-60R helicopter carries 8x Hellfire missiles
Anti-Submarine Warfare Mission Package:
- Variable depth sonar (VDS)
- Multi-function towed array (MFTA) acoustic receiver
- Torpedo detection equipment and countermeasures
- MH-60R helicopter carries Airborne Low Frequency Sonar, Sonobuoys, APS153 Periscope Detection radar, and MK46/50/54 Torpedos
Mine Countermeasures Mission Package:
- Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV)
- AQS-20 Mine Hunting Sonar
- MH-60R helicopter carries AN/AES-1 Airborne Laser Mine Detection System, AN/ASQ-235 Airborne Mine Neutralization Systems
More pictures
MH-60 approaching USS Freedom (source- US Navy)
57 mm Mk 110 gun on USS Freedom (source- US Navy)
USS Detroit firing a Hellfire missile (source- US Navy)
Sources
- Q & A with the U.S. Navy on Lockheed Martin Hellfire missiles for Littoral Combat Ships
- https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL33741/238
- https://sgp.fas.org/crs/weapons/RL33741.pdf
- https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD1104699.pdf
- Littoral Combat Ships - Mine Countermeasures Mission Package > United States Navy > Displayy-FactFiles
- Littoral Combat Ships - Surface Warfare Mission Package > United States Navy > Displayy-FactFiles
- Littoral Combat Ships - Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Mission Package > United States Navy > Displayy-FactFiles
- Freedom class Littoral Combat Ship LCS US Navy
- Navy conducts successful missile test firing > Naval Sea Systems Command > News