Freedom (LCS-1)

🇺🇸United States

Marinette Marine

2008 – Present

Overview

The Freedom-class littoral combat ships (LCS) are versatile warships designed for the U.S. Navy to operate in coastal zones, featuring a modular design for rapid mission reconfiguration. Equipped with advanced automation, a core crew of about 40 can expand to 75, and they include capabilities for mine warfare, anti-submarine, and surface warfare, along with various armaments and support for unmanned vessels.

Specifications

General

Crew70

Guns1 MK 110 Mod 0 57mm Gun system, 2 MK 46 Mod 2 30mm GWS, 3 MK 26 Mod 17 .50 Cal Machine guns, 1 MK 31 Mod 0 RAM Launcher

Beam M17.5 m

Length M115.21 m

Vls Cells21

PropulsionCombined diesel and gas turbine with steerable water jet propulsion

Helicopters2

Speed Knots40 knots

Main MissilesRIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile, NLOS (Non Line-of-Sight) missiles

Displacement Tons3,000 tons

Research Notes

Lead ship of the Freedom-variant LCS concept

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Freedom introduced one half of the U.S. Navy littoral combat ship experiment: a fast, modular surface combatant for near-shore missions.

USS Freedom (LCS-1) is important because it introduced the monohull Freedom variant of the Littoral Combat Ship program. The class was designed around speed, shallow-water access and mission-package modularity for mine countermeasures, surface warfare and anti-submarine tasks. Its story is also a procurement lesson about ambitious modular concepts meeting operational realities.

Section Sources

Littoral Combat Ship Fact SheetU.S. Navy Surface Force Pacific • Supports development analysis for Freedom (LCS-1).

Speed and mission packages over traditional frigate design

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The ship was intended to swap mission focus through packages rather than carry every capability permanently.

Freedom-variant LCS capability centered on aviation facilities, high speed, small crew concepts and modular mission packages. That design differed from a traditional frigate, which carries a more fixed sensor and weapons suite. The tradeoff was flexibility in theory but complexity in maintenance, crewing and mission-package maturity.

Section Sources

Littoral Combat Ship Fact SheetU.S. Navy Surface Force Pacific • Supports capabilities analysis for Freedom (LCS-1).

Useful page because LCS became controversial

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The Freedom variant matters not only for what it did at sea, but for what it revealed about modular naval procurement.

A rich Freedom page should explain the debate around LCS rather than simply list dimensions. The ship class promised affordable littoral presence but encountered survivability, mission module and reliability criticism. That makes it a high-value entity for readers studying modern U.S. naval procurement.

Section Sources

Littoral Combat Ship Fact SheetU.S. Navy Surface Force Pacific • Supports service_context analysis for Freedom (LCS-1).

Sources & References

NAVYPEDIA fighting ships of the worldNavypedia • 2026

Naval EncyclopediaNaval Encyclopedia • 2026

UNITS

Name	Country	Status	Service Year	Description
USS Sioux City (LCS-11)	🇺🇸United States	ACTIVE	2018 – Present	Freedom-class LCS
USS Little Rock (LCS-9)	🇺🇸United States	ACTIVE	2017 – Present	Freedom-class LCS
USS Detroit (LCS-7)	🇺🇸United States	ACTIVE	2016 – Present	Freedom-class LCS
USS Milwaukee (LCS-5)	🇺🇸United States	ACTIVE	2015 – Present	Freedom-class LCS
USS Fort Worth (LCS-3)	🇺🇸United States	ACTIVE	2012 – Present	Freedom-class LCS
USS Freedom (LCS-1)	🇺🇸United States	DECOMMISSIONED	2008 – 2021	Lead Freedom-class LCS