USS Coronado (LCS-4)

For other ships of the same name, see USS Coronado.
USS Coronado (LCS-4)
Coronado in April 2014
Career
Namesake: Coronado, California[1]
Awarded: 1 May 2009[2]
Builder: Austal USA[2]
Laid down: 17 December 2009
Launched: 14 January 2012[3]
Sponsored by: Susan Keith
Christened: 14 January 2012
Acquired: 27 September 2013
Commissioned: 5 April 2014
Status: In active service, as of 2015
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type:Independence-class littoral combat ship
Displacement:2,307 metric tons light, 3,104 metric tons full, 797 metric tons deadweight[4]
Length:127.4 m (418 ft)[4]
Beam:31.6 m (104 ft)[4]
Draft:14 ft (4.27 m)[4]
Propulsion:2× General Electric LM2500 gas turbines
4 × waterjets, retractable Azimuth thruster
4 × diesel generators
Speed:40+ knots, 47 knots (54 mph; 87 km/h) sprint
Range:4,300 nmi (8,000 km; 4,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Capacity:210 tonnes
Complement:40 core crew (8 officers, 32 enlisted) plus up to 35 mission crew
Sensors and
processing systems:		Sea Giraffe 3D Surface/Air RADAR
Bridgemaster-E Navigational RADAR
AN/KAX-2 EO/IR sensor for GFC
Electronic warfare
and decoys:		EDO ES-3601 ESM
4 × SRBOC rapid bloom chaff launchers
Armament:BAE Systems Mk 110 57 mm gun
4 × .50-cal guns (2 aft, 2 forward)
Evolved SeaRAM 11 cell missile launcher
Mission modules
Aircraft carried:2 × MH-60R/S Seahawks
MQ-8 Fire Scout

USS Coronado (LCS-4) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship. She is the third ship of the United States Navy to be named after Coronado, California. The contract was awarded to General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works in May 2009 for the construction of LCS-4.[1][2]

Design

Coronado is the second LCS to feature a high-speed trimaran hull and will be designed to defeat littoral threats and provide access in coastal waters for missions such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare. There are two different LCS hull forms – the Independence-class aluminum trimaran, and the Freedom-class semiplaning monohull designed and built by Lockheed Martin. These seaframes will be outfitted with reconfigurable payloads, called mission packages, which can be changed out quickly. Mission packages are supported by special detachments that will deploy manned and unmanned vehicles and sensors.[1][2] Coronado is being built by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama.

Starting with LCS-4, the Independence-class carries standard 7 meter long Rigid-hulled inflatable boats, and improvements in corrosion protection and propulsion.[5]

History

The USS Coronado is floated out.

The ship's keel was laid on 17 December 2009.[6]

She was launched and christened during a ceremony in Mobile Bay on 14 January 2012 by Susan Keith, the daughter of Eleanor Ring who christened the USS Coronado (AGF-11) in 1966.[7]

Fire is feared on all the ships of the Independence class,[8] and the delivery of Coronado was delayed by two fires during her builder's trials.[9] USS Coronado was delivered on 27 September 2013.[10] On 27 January 2014 Coronado departed the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, en route to her commissioning site in Coronado, California.[11] She was commissioned on 5 April 2014.

On 30 April 2014, the LCS Mission Modules (MM) program successfully completed the first Structural Test Firing (STF) of the 30 mm gun mission module aboard the USS Coronado. The test consisted of installing two 30 mm guns, mission package software, and associated test equipment, loading live ammunition, and conducting three live fire scenarios: gun operations; worst case blast loading; and sustained fire. Multiple tracking exercises using high speed maneuvering surface targets to simulate single and swarm boat attacks were also accomplished the following day. Surface warfare tracking and live fire exercises are scheduled in summer 2014, culminating in initial operational test and evaluation in 2015. Coronado is the first Independence-class LCS to undergo firings of the 30 mm cannons of the surface warfare mission package.[12]

In late July 2014, the Navy confirmed that the Coronado would test-launch the Norwegian Naval Strike Missile in September. Although there is no current requirement for the missile aboard Littoral Combat Ships, it is significantly larger than the AGM-114 Hellfire missile slated to be integrated onto the ship classes, and the Navy is testing its feasibility in an increased anti-surface warfare role for the ships. The test was meant to provide insight into the missile's capabilities, see if it could fit aboard the ship, and review the detect-to-engage sequence of firing a long-range weapon from an LCS.[13] The test occurred on 24 September 2014. The missile was successfully fired from a launcher positioned on ship's flight deck at a mobile ship target.[14]

In mid-August 2014, the Coronado demonstrated the ability to rapidly stage and deploy U.S. Marine Corps ground units. Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadrons 469 and 303 conducted day and night deck-landing qualifications in preparation for an airborne raid. The Independence LCS' features of high speed, a large flight deck, and reconfigurable mission bay can support air and small-boat employment and delivery of Marine ground and air tactical units; a small Marine ground unit can be carried even with an embarked mission module.[15]

On 16 October 2014, the Navy announced that the Coronado conducted dynamic interface testing with the MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter. The tests familiarized the crew with operating the unmanned aircraft, verified and expanded launch and recovery envelopes, and identified opportunities for envelope expansion to demonstrate future concepts of operations for the aircraft aboard an LCS, which will use the Fire Scout in all three mission packages. Final Contract Trials (FCT) for the ship were completed in June 2014, and the Coronado is scheduled to begin Post Shakedown Availability in October 2014.[16]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Navy Names Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado". United States Navy. 12 March 2009.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Wilkinson, Kaija (1 May 2009). "Austal to build its second LCS for U.S. Navy". Press-Register.
  3. ↑ Reed, John (17 January 2012). "The Navy's Newest LCS Launches".
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "CORONADO (LCS 4)". Naval Vessel Register. 13 August 2009. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
  5. ↑ Osborn, Kris (27 June 2014). "Navy Engineers LCS Changes". www.dodbuzz.com (Monster). Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "General Dynamics Littoral Combat Ship Team Delivers Independence (LCS 2) and Lays Keel for Coronado (LCS 4)" (Press release). PR Newswire. 18 December 2009.
  7. ↑ "USA: Austal Christens Independence-Variant Littoral Combat Ship Coronado". Shipbuilding Tribune. 17 January 2012. Archived from the original on 17 January 2012.
  8. ↑ "Next-gen ship: spacious feel, little steel."
  9. ↑ "LCS matures, new missile coming."
  10. ↑ "U.S. Navy Accepts Delivery of Future USS Coronado". World Maritime News. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  11. ↑ PEO LCS Public Affairs (27 January 2014). "Coronado (LCS 4) Begins Sailaway". Mobile, Alabama: U.S. Navy. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  12. ↑ Test Firing of Surface Warfare Gun Module on USS Coronado Successful - Navy.mil, 16 May 2014
  13. ↑ LCS to conduct test of Norwegian missile - Militarytimes.com, 24 July 2014
  14. ↑ Norwegian Missile Test On Littoral Combat Ship Successful - News.USNI.org, 24 September 2014
  15. ↑ Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) Conducts Integration Exercise with U.S. Marines - Navyrecognition.com, 21 August 2014
  16. ↑ USS Coronado (LCS 4) Conducts Dynamic Interface Testing with MQ-8B Fire Scout - Navy.mil, 16 October 2014

External links