Independence, a 418-foot warship built in Alabama, boasts a top speed in excess of 45 knots, or about 52 mph, and sustained 44 knots for four hours during builder trials that wrapped up this month off the Gulf Coast.

Associated Press Writer David Sharp

General Dynamics – Independence Littoral Combat Ship

Performance in All Conditions :

Trimaran hull concept vastly improves performance on a wide range of sea conditions enabling extended warfighting availability to the U.S. Navy. The slender center hull and two smaller side hulls gives the smaller ship the operational characteristics of a larger craft providing greater stability in rough seas and combat conditions.

Further improving performance, the aluminum structure and selective use of steel provides huge advantages of stability and buoyancy, improved damage protection, reduced magnetic signature (quieter operations) and significant increases in the ship’s usable interior space compared to a monohull design.

Modular Mission Capabilities :

The design has the performance to bring more warfighting capability to the mission front. Modular launch systems and an extended flight deck provide maximum flexibility and enable rapid deployment of UAV, sensors and mission personnel.

The General Dynamics LCS solution has the speed and capacity to traverse the changing seas of today’s asymmetric threats:

■Wider operation envelope (sea keeping, speed, endurance, stability)
■Concurrent helicopter and UAV operations
■Quick mission module change

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