Lockheed delivers Freedom-variant Cooperstown, second LCS with combining gear fix

The Navy has accepted the delivery of Littoral Combat Ship Cooperstown (LCS-23) -- the second Freedom-variant LCS outfitted with the combining gear correction.

Designed by Lockheed Martin, the Cooperstown was delivered to the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette, WI on Sept. 20, the service said in a press release.

The Navy announced a fix in November to the Freedom-class combining gear issue. The service stopped receipt of the monohulled Freedom class from Lockheed Martin in January 2021 after identifying a “material defect” with the combining gear.

The combining gear fix was first tested on Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS-21).

“LCS-23 is the second Freedom-variant ship outfitted with the combining gear correction that will allow unrestricted operations. The correction addresses a class-wide flaw that was identified as the fleet deployed these ships in greater numbers,” the Navy stated.

At the Fincantieri shipyard, the future Marinette (LCS-25) is under construction and scheduled for delivery in early 2023.

“Additional ships in various stages of construction include the future ships Nantucket (LCS-27), Beloit (LCS-29) and Cleveland (LCS-31). LCS-31 will be the final Freedom-variant LCS,” the Navy said.