USS Sioux City underway on the Severn River on 13 November 2018
History
United States
NameSioux City
NamesakeSioux City
Awarded16 March 2012[5]
BuilderMarinette Marine[5]
Laid down19 February 2014[6]
Launched30 January 2016[1]
Sponsored byMary Winnefeld
Christened30 January 2016
Acquired22 August 2018[2]
Commissioned17 November 2018[3]
Decommissioned14 August 2023[4]
HomeportNaval Station Mayport[5]
Identification
MottoForging a New Frontier
StatusStricken, Final Disposition Pending[5]
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeFreedom-class littoral combat ship
Displacement3,500 metric tons (3,900 short tons) full load[8]
Length378.3 ft (115.3 m)
Beam57.4 ft (17.5 m)
Draft13 ft (4.0 m)
Propulsion2 Rolls-Royce MT30 36 MW gas turbines, 2 Colt-Pielstick diesel engines, 4 Rolls-Royce waterjets
Speed45 knots (52 mph; 83 km/h) (sea state 3)
Range3,500 nmi (6,500 km) at 18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h)[7]1,500 nmi (2,800 km) at 50 knots (58 mph; 93 km/h), 4,300 nmi (8,000 km) at 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h)
Endurance21 days (336 hours)
Boats & landing
craft carried		11 m RHIB, 40 ft (12 m) high-speed boats
Complement15 to 50 core crew, 75 mission crew (Blue and Gold crews)
Armament
Aircraft carried
NotesElectrical power is provided by 4 Isotta Fraschini V1708 diesel engines with Hitzinger generator units rated at 800 kW each.

USS Sioux City (LCS-11) was a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the first ship named after Sioux City, the fourth-largest city in Iowa.[9][10]

Design

In 2002, the Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.[11] The Navy initially ordered two monohull ships from Lockheed Martin, which became known as the Freedom-class littoral combat ships after the first ship of the class, USS Freedom.[11][12] Odd-numbered littoral combat ships are built using the Freedom-class monohull design, while even-numbered ships are based on a competing design, the trimaran hull Independence-class littoral combat ship from General Dynamics.[11] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Freedom-class design.[11] Sioux City was the sixth Freedom-class littoral combat ship to be built.

Sioux City includes additional stability improvements over the original Freedom design; the stern transom was lengthened and buoyancy tanks were added to the stern to increase weight service and enhance stability.[13] The ship will also feature automated sensors to allow "conditions-based maintenance" and reduce crew overwork and fatigue issues that Freedom had on her first deployment.[14]

Construction and career

The ceremonial “laying of the keel” was on 19 February 2014, at Marinette, Wisconsin.[6] The ship was constructed by Fincantieri Marinette Marine and launched on 30 January 2016 after being christened by her sponsor Mary Winnefield, wife of Admiral James A. Winnefeld Jr., USN.[1][15]

Sioux City was delivered to the Navy by Lockheed Martin and the Marinette Marine shipyard on 22 August 2018 along with sister ship Wichita in a double delivery.[2] The ship was commissioned at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland on 17 November 2018,[3] and then assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron Two.

In September 2020, Sioux City was assigned to the US Southern Command with a United States Coast Guard law enforcement detachment on board to help perform counter-narcotics operations.[16]

Sioux City leads a joint flotilla through the Persian Gulf, June 2022

In May 2022, Sioux City was assigned to the Sixth Fleet, while she was equipped with a surface warfare module. In late May, Sioux City was re-assigned to the Fifth Fleet and assigned to the Combined Task Force (CTF) 153 in the Red Sea.[17]

On 2 October 2022, Sioux City arrived at her homport of Mayport after a five-month deployment, becoming the first LCS to operate in the Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Northern Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf.[18]

On 14 August 2023, Sioux City was decommissioned at Naval Station Mayport and placed into a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) disposition status.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "Lockheed Martin-Led Team Launches Future USS Sioux City" (Press release). Lockheed Martin. 30 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Navy Accepts Delivery of Future USS Sioux City and USS Wichita" (Press release). United States Navy. 23 August 2018. NNS180823-09. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  3. ^ a b "USS Sioux City (LCS 11) is "Brought to Life" at the U.S. Naval Academy" (Press release). United States Navy. 17 November 2018. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  4. ^ a b "USS Sioux City (LCS 11) Decommissions" (Press release). United States Navy. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d "Sioux City (LCS-11)". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Lockheed Martin-Led Team Lays Keel on Nation's Eleventh Littoral Combat Ship" (Press release). Lockheed Martin. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  7. ^ "US Navy Fact File: LITTORAL COMBAT SHIP CLASS – LCS". Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  8. ^ "Littoral Combat Ship Class - LCS". United States Navy. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  9. ^ "Navy Names Five New Ships" (Press release). U.S. Department of Defense. 15 February 2012. 109-12. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  10. ^ Hayworth, Bret (15 February 2012). "U.S. Navy Names New Ship USS Sioux City". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  11. ^ a b c d "US Navy Fact File: Littoral Combat Ship Class – LCS". US Navy. Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  12. ^ O'Rourke, Ronald (4 May 2010). "Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  13. ^ Osborn, Kris (27 June 2014). "Navy Engineers LCS Changes". www.dodbuzz.com. Monster. Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  14. ^ Freedberg Jr., Sydney J. (4 April 2014). "Sleepless In Singapore: LCS Is Undermanned & Overworked, Says GAO". breakingdefense.com. Breaking Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  15. ^ "Sponsor brings life to USS Sioux City". Sioux City Journal. 12 November 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  16. ^ Shelburne, Mallory (1 September 2020). "Littoral Combat Ship USS Sioux City Joins SOUTHCOM Anti-Drug Mission in First Deployment". USNI News. United States Naval Institute. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  17. ^ Shelburne, Mallory (31 May 2022). "Littoral Combat Ship USS Sioux City Now Operating in the Middle East". USNI News. United States Naval Institute. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  18. ^ "USS Sioux City (LCS 11) returns from historic deployment through 5th and 6th Fleets" (Press release). United States Navy. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.

External links

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