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LCS 2 begins sea trials after 3-day delay

The Navy’s second littoral combat ship, Independence, put to sea for the first time Thursday for builder’s trials, three days later than scheduled after its shipyard crew dealt with early engineering problems.

The aluminum trimaran was scheduled to spend four days at sea testing its engines and equipment, including a full-power run that will demonstrate whether the ship can get up to the same high speeds as its steel-and-aluminum counterpart, Freedom.

Jim DeMartini, a spokesman for shipbuilder General Dynamics, would not give any information about what technical problems held up Independence’s builder’s trials, which were originally slated to begin Monday.

He told Navy Times on Monday that technicians heard unwelcome noises in one of the ship’s main propulsion diesels just after it had pushed away from its Mobile, Ala., pier, so they returned to the dock “out of an abundance of caution.” But after the start of trials was delayed again the next day, he said GD would no longer provide “interim updates” about the condition of the ship. Other than confirming Independence sailed Thursday, he gave no details about what had been repaired.

“We’re just not going to make any statements until trials are over,” DeMartini said. The ship was underway on schedule on Thursday afternoon.

The Navy has never fielded a warship like Independence, and so engineers are eager to observe how the ship performs at sea. Although it is designed to accept the same interchangeable sub, mine and surface target-hunting equipment as Freedom, LCS 2’s singular shape and outrigger hulls are supposed to help it ride smoothly in rough seas. Unlike Freedom, which planes over the waves like a Jet Ski, Independence is built with a bulbous bow to slice through the surface.

Another dynamic technicians will be watching is how Independence uses its fuel. Both LCS configurations have combined diesel and gas turbine power plants, designed to run four engines together to achieve their high sprint speeds. But the tradeoff for Freedom in early tests has been that it guzzles fuel; its Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbines are much larger than the General Electric LM2500 turbines that drive most Navy surface combatants. Independence has LM2500s, so it’s possible the Navy’s long experience with them will mean sailors can run the ship more efficiently. Or not.

Independence and Freedom are both more than a year late and at least 100 percent over budget. The ships were pitched to Congress at a price of about $220 million each, but Navy budget documents for fiscal 2010 put the cost for Independence at about $704 million and for Freedom at about $637 million.

Freedom, which was commissioned in November, is undergoing testing at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. The Navy hopes to take delivery of Independence this summer and commission it this fall.

Test run

Independence was set to spend four days at sea conducting tests of its engineering plant and other onboard systems. Weapons, most sensors and the ship’s waterborne mission area — from which it will launch and recover unmanned vehicles — will be tested on later outings.

During builder’s trials, Independence likely will cruise on its diesels only, then on its gas turbines only, then run all four engines together on a high-speed full-power run. Standard builder’s trial demonstrations also include running the ship at full power astern; a “crash-back” drill, in which the ship goes from full ahead to full astern; high-speed turns; and other tests.

Engineers also will watch how the ship’s unique aluminum hull behaves at high speeds and in rough seas.