Littoral Combat Ships
The LCS are designed to be speedy, flexible, relatively inexpensive, and operate with shallow draft. They are easily reconfigurable for varying roles, ranging from anti-submarine warfare to reconnaissance, maritime intercept, and special operations. In addition to standard armaments, they can accommodate 2 Seahawk helicopters, launch and recover small boats, and deploy a small force of armored fighting vehicles. The first LCS, the USS Freedom, was commissioned in November 2008. ,The USS independence is the second ship with the first trimaran design and was commissioned on January 16, 2010.
Extrusion Integration
With design criteria stressing agility, it's not surprising that extruded components, with their high strength and lightweight, play an important role in the LCS program. Among other applications, truss sections joined with friction stir welding are used for decking. T-sections again joined via friction stir, are incorporated in the hull and superstructure.
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