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Development and funding
Littoral Combat Ship is a generic name for a new class of vessels deployed by or designed for the United States Navy. The littoral-combat-ship project has been in development for six years, and has suffered significant delays and much-publicized criticism. Sometime in 2010, the Navy plans to select a single LCS platform for production.

The Littoral Surface Craft-Experimental (LSC(X) or Fast Sea Frame)
The United States Navy commissioned its first littoral combat ship, USS Sea Fighter (FSF-1), in 2003; it launched in 2005. The Sea Fighter's platform, with its small waterplane area twin hull (a SWATH-type hull), is designated the Fast Sea Frame (Sea Fighter&rsquo;s hull designation is FSF-1). It is an experimental platform, initially designated as LSC(X), used to test a variety of mission modules. The Sea Fighteris being used in tests as a proxy for the next-generation littoral combat ships.

The Littoral Combat Ship
The littoral combat ship has been in development since 2004, when Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and Raytheon each submitted proposed littoral combat ship designs to the Navy. The Navy eventually selected two, competing designs. These designs, approved in 2004, were Lockheed Martin's semiplaning monohull and General Dynamics' aluminum trimaran. The Navy contracted with both companies, ordering two prototypes from each design, noting that it might use two different littoral-combat-ship platforms concurrently.

Originally, the Navy ordered two prototypes of each design. Later, the Navy canceled each company's second prototype. By 2009, however, the Navy had renewed its orders.

The Navy has announced that it will not, as originally planned, operate both design platforms contemporaneously. Rather, sometime in the summer of 2010, the Navy will select a single platform and order 10 ships. Again in 2012, the Navy will award a contract for another five ships, although not necessarily from the same shipyard.

The Lockheed Design
Lockheed Martin laid the keel of its first prototype on 2 June 2005 at Marinette Marine, Marinette, Wisconsin. Lockheed's Maritime Systems and Sensors (MS2) division, directed by Fred Moosally, managed the contract. On 23 September 2006, the Lockheed Martin prototype was christened the USS Freedom (LCS-1) and launched at the Marinette Marine shipyard. The Freedom received its commission on 8 November 2008,at Veteran's Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Lockheed Martin's second prototype will be named the USS Fort Worth (LCS-3).

The 2010 budget estimates that the Freedom will cost $637 million.

The General Dynamics Design
General Dynamics, working with its partner Austal USA (a subsidiary of Australian aluminum-ship manufacturer Austal, laid the keel of its first prototype on 19 January 2006 at Austal's shipyards in Mobile, Alabama. On 30 April 2008, the General Dynamics prototype was christened the  USS Independence (LCS-2).

General Dynamics' second prototype will be the [[USS Coronado (LCS-4)|USS Coronado (LCS-4)].

Independence is scheduled to cost $704 million.

Advantages
Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems released a study that showed that seven LCS can more efficiently perform anti-piracy patrols in the Western Indian Ocean than a fleet of 20 conventional ships for a quarter of the cost.

Criticism
Much public criticism has been leveled against the LCS project, particularly because of comments made during the 2008 presidental election debates.

In the September 26, 2008 U.S. Presidential debate, John McCain denounced the littoral combat ship as an example of botched contracting procedures that drive up the costs of ships unnecessarily.

Several other critics—including United States House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Chairman Gene Taylor (Mississippi), former Navy Secretary John Lehman, and Retired U.S. Navy Adm. James Lyons—have complained about the costs of LCS project.

Congressman Joe Sestak leaked that the LCS did not have the needed bandwidth for the anti-submarine mission.

To address some of these criticisms Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead said that costs have nearly stabilized on the next batch of LCS vessels and that he would work with Congress to adjust the cost cap on these Naval ships.