WASHINGTON, Feb. 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Navy awarded Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) a $15 million contract to mature its Freedom-variant Frigate design as a part of the Navy's FFG(X) competition.

Lockheed Martin submitted its Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) parent design in response to the U.S. Navy's FFG(X) conceptual design solicitation with Fincantieri Marinette Marine as its shipbuilder and Gibbs & Cox as its naval architect.

"We are proud of our 15-year partnership with the U.S. Navy on the Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship and look forward to extending it to FFG(X)," said Joe DePietro, Lockheed Martin vice president of small combatants and ship systems. "Built to U.S. Navy shipbuilding standards, our frigate design offers an affordable, low-risk answer to meeting the Navy's goals of a larger and more capable fleet."

The Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine team is currently in full-rate production of the Freedom-variant of the LCS, and has delivered five ships to the U.S. Navy to date. There are eight ships in various stages of construction at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, with one more in long-lead production.

Demonstrating the Freedom-variant LCS design flexibility and ability to integrate increased capabilities, the Royal Saudi Naval Forces selected an LCS derivative, the Multi-Mission Surface Combatant, to fulfill its small combatant requirement. This is the first sale in over three decades of a U.S.-built surface combatant to a foreign partner nation.

For additional information, visit our website: www.lockheedmartin.com/frigate

About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 100,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

About Fincantieri Marinette Marine
Founded in 1942, Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) is located on the Menominee River flowage into Green Bay. The largest shipyard in the Midwest, FMM has delivered more than 1,300 vessels to the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and commercial customers, including the technologically advanced Littoral Combat Ship Freedom variant for the U.S. Navy. In 2008, FMM along with several sister shipyards also based in the Great Lakes region, became part of Fincantieri, one of the world's largest shipbuilding groups and number one by diversification and innovation, with more than 19,400 employees, of whom more than 8,200 in Italy, 20 shipyards in 4 continents.  Fincantieri operates in the United States through its subsidiary Fincantieri Marine Group, serving both civilian and government customers. Over the past five years, Fincantieri invested more than $100 million in both capital infrastructure and its resources to support FMM's transformation into what is now one of the best shipyards in the United States. Employing approximately 1,500 employees, today FMM is a state-of-the-art, full service new construction shipyard.

About Gibbs & Cox
Gibbs & Cox, the nation's leading independent maritime solutions firm specializing in naval architecture, marine engineering and design, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. The company, founded in 1929, has provided designs for nearly 80 percent of the current U.S. Navy surface combatant fleet; approaching 7,000 naval and commercial ships have been built to Gibbs & Cox designs.

SOURCE Lockheed Martin