MARINETTE, Wis., July 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 13, the future USS Wichita, completed Acceptance Trials in the waters of Lake Michigan. LCS 13 is the seventh Freedom-variant LCS designed and built by the Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT)-led industry team, and is slated for delivery to the U.S. Navy later this summer.

"LCS 13's completion of Acceptance Trials means this ship is one step closer to joining the fleet and conducting critical maritime operations for the Navy," said Joe DePietro, vice president, Small Combatants and Ship Systems at Lockheed Martin. "This ship is agile, powerful and lethal, and the industry team and I are looking forward to her delivery, commissioning and deployment."

The trials, conducted July 9-12, included a full-power run, maneuverability testing and air detect-to-engage demonstrations of the ship's combat system. Major systems and features were demonstrated including aviation support, and small boat launch handling and recovery.

"I am extremely proud of our LCS team including our shipbuilders at Fincantieri Marinette Marine," said Jan Allman, Fincantieri Marinette Marine President and CEO. "These are complex vessels, and it takes a strong team effort to design, build and test these American warships."

The future USS Wichita is one of eight ships in various stages of production and test at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, with one more in long-lead production.

The next Freedom-variant in the class is LCS 15, the future USS Billings. LCS 15 is scheduled to complete sea trials this year.

Lockheed Martin's Freedom-variant LCS is a highly maneuverable, lethal and adaptable ship, designed to support focused-missions in the areas of mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare. The Freedom-variant LCS integrates new technology and capability to affordably support current and future mission capability from deep water to the littorals.

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For more information, visit www.lockheedmartin.com/lcs.

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. This year the company received three Edison Awards for ground-breaking innovations in autonomy, satellite technology and directed energy.

About Fincantieri Marinette Marine
Fincantieri is one of the world's largest shipbuilding groups and number one by diversification and innovation. It is a leader in cruise ship design and construction and a reference player in all high‐tech shipbuilding industry's sectors, from naval to offshore vessels, from high‐complexity special vessels and ferries to mega‐yachts, ship repairs and conversions, systems and components production and after‐sales services.

Having built more than 7,000 vessels in over 230 years of maritime history, and with around 19,400 employees and 20 shipyards on four continents, today Fincantieri is the leading Western shipbuilder. It has among its clients many of the world's major cruise operators, the Italian and the U.S. Navy, in addition to several foreign navies, and it is partner of some of the main European defense companies within supranational programs. www.fincantieri.com

Fincantieri operates in the United States through its subsidiary Fincantieri Marine Group (FMG). Fincantieri Marine Group serves government customers, including the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, with its three shipyards (Fincantieri Marinette Marine, Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding and Fincantieri ACE Marine) all located in the Great Lakes Region.

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