Littoral Combat Ships are Massively Upgrading Their Weapons Systems

*Top Warrior Maven Article of 2021. Republished for viewer interest.

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

(Washington, D.C.) The Navy is now qualifying a new combat system for its Littoral Combat Ship intended to better integrate, streamlining and improve weapons on board the ship, a plan which is leading the service to prepare for a larger number of upcoming live-fire exercises to prepare the ship for major maritime warfare.

“We are undertaking a large-scale effort to upgrade combat systems, Capt. Jason Kipp, program manager, PEO Integrated Warfare Systems, told an audience at the Navy League’s Sea Air Space Symposium.

Part of the effort includes an introduction of new Government Furnished Equipment likely intended to improve fire-control, targeting and integration across a group of ship-board weapons systems. 

These weapons include an over-the-horizon Naval Strike Missile, Close-in-Weapons System for near-in threats and mid-range defensive interceptors such as SeaRAM and Rolling Airframe Missile. 

SeaRAM

Over the course of many years of development, the SeaRAM missile has engaged and destroyed an aerial drone, Navy officials said. This was the first shipboard firing of the new weapon, which emerged from extensive planning, assessment, modeling and simulation, Navy officials said.

Kipp said the Combat Systems Qualification for LCS 19, the USS St. Louis, recently completed by firing a remote-controlled aerial targeting with SeaRAM and only the second second “full-up-display” of SeaRAM detecting and engaging from aboard the Freedom variant of the LCS.