The Navy's first littoral combat ship,the USS Freedom(LCS 1),will arrive at her homeport of San Diego on 23 April upon completion of her first deployment.A member of the U.S. Pacific Fleet,she departed from Mayport,Florida on 16 February.She conducted counter-drug trafficking operations,netting more than five tons of cocaine in four interdictions,as well as seizing two speedboats and arresting nine smuggler suspects.
The Freedom also integrated with the USS Carl Vinson(CVN70)carrier strike group for training evolutions,and made theater security cooperation visits to Columbia,Panama and Mexico.This involved community outreach events and professional exchanges with partner nation navies.She is a member of the U.S. 3rd Fleet,which has an area of responsibility(AOR)of 50 million square miles in the Eastern Pacific.
The Navy plans to build 55 littoral combat ships.The small,highly networked warships are extremely fast and especially well-suited for near-shore operations in shallow waters.The Lockheed Martin industry team built the USS Freedom.
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