Saudi Ships

Saudi Arabia has formalized its interest in buying eight Littoral Combat Ship-like medium surface combat ships (SCSs) and 30 Fast Patrol Vessels, according to officials with Lockheed Martin.

Company officials briefed reporters today at the Surface Navy Association symposium, and Paul Lemmo, vice president of business development, mission systems and sensors, said Saudi Arabia has submitted pricing and availability requests for the SCSs and FPVs.

However, Lemmo and other Lockheed officials said there had been no indication of whether Saudi Arabia is looking to purchase the Lockheed Martin version of the ship or the Austal USA variant.

The Saudis are not interested in the mission modules concept that is central to the American version of the ship and are asking instead for integrated air and missile defense capabilities, so all of vital equipment will have to be built in, according to Lemmo. Joe North, director of the LCS program for Lockheed, said the SCS will likely include a redesigned deck house, and the SCS will replace the LCS's radar system with Aegis-system SPY radar.

“Of course, changing radars to something of the SPY high-end changes structure up in the deck house,” North said, “so we would revise that kind of stuff, but it would be easy to just replace the deck house with a different design.”