USS ''Marinette'' (LCS-25) is a

littoral combat ship A littoral combat ship (LCS) is either of two classes of relatively small surface vessels designed for littoral warfare in near-shore operations by the United States Navy. It was "envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface comba ...

of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. She is the first commissioned ship, and second overall in naval service to be named after

Marinette, Wisconsin Marinette is a city in and the county seat of Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the south bank of the Menominee River, at its mouth at Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay, part of Lake Michigan; to the north is Stephe ...

(the place where it was built), the other being , a large fleet

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

Design

In 2002, the US Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships. The Navy initially ordered two monohull ships from

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

, which became known as the ''Freedom''-class littoral combat ships after the first ship of the class, . Odd-numbered US Navy littoral combat ships are built using the ''Freedom''-class monohull design, while even-numbered ships are based on a competing design, the

trimaran A trimaran (or double-outrigger) is a multihull boat that comprises a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls (or "floats") which are attached to the main hull with lateral beams. Most modern trimarans are sailing yachts designed for recrea ...

hull from

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales and fifth largest in the Unit ...

. The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the ''Freedom''-class design. ''Marinette'' is the thirteenth ''Freedom''-class littoral combat ship to be built.

Construction and career

Marinette Marine Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) is an American shipbuilding firm in Marinette, Wisconsin. Marinette Marine was a subsidiary of The Manitowoc Company, Manitowoc Marine Group of Wisconsin from 2000 to 2009, when it was sold to Fincantieri Mari ...

was awarded the contract to build the ship on 31 March 2016 and built at their shipyard in

. The ship was launched on 31 October 2020, subsequently she was christened on 20 November 2021. ''Marinette'' was commissioned on 16 September 2023, at a ceremony in

Menominee, Michigan Menominee ( ) is a city and the county seat of Menominee County, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula. The population was 8,488 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Menominee County, Mi ...

. In attendance was Honorable Mike Gallagher, U.S. Representative,

Wisconsin's 8th congressional district Wisconsin's 8th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in northeastern Wisconsin. It has been represented by Republican Tony Wied since November 12, 2024. It was previously vacant from ...

, the Honorable

Jennifer Granholm Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is an American politician who was the 16th United States secretary of energy from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she previously served as the 47t ...

, ship’s sponsor, the Honorable Russell Rumbaugh, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Financial Management and Comptroller, VADM Darse E. Crandall, Jr.,

Judge Advocate General of the Navy The judge advocate general of the Navy (JAG) is the highest-ranking uniformed lawyer in the United States Department of the Navy. The judge advocate general is the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of the Navy, secretary of the Nav ...

, the Honorable Jean Stegeman,

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Menominee, Michigan, the Honorable Steve Genisot, Mayor of

, and Chauncey McIntosh, Vice President and General Manager, Lockheed Martin Integrated Warfare Systems and Sensors. On October 27, 2023, ''Marinettes Executive Officer, Lt. Commander Jonathan Volkle, was found dead in a suicide.

References

* Freedom-class littoral combat ships Lockheed Martin 2020 ships Ships built by Marinette Marine {{US-mil-ship-stub