Jan 13 2011
Alcoa Defense, the defense industry’s leading supplier of aluminum, titanium and other light alloys, today congratulated Austal USA and Lockheed Martin on receiving awards to construct the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) fleet for the U.S. Navy.
The LCS is the U.S. Navy’s first surface-combatant ship in 15 years to feature aluminum. Additionally, Austal’s LCS is the first all-aluminum surface combatant ship in the U.S. Navy fleet and Lockheed Martin’s LCS features an aluminum superstructure.
“We want to congratulate both companies on this new generation of naval vessels,” said Dave Dobson, President, Alcoa Defense. “We look forward to working with them to help maximize light-alloy performance while streamlining the supply chain and reducing manufacturing costs.”
Each LCS integrates aluminum in its structure, which reduces its weight and allows the ship to be faster and more agile. This agility enhances the ability of LCS-class vessels to operate close to shore, in the littoral zone. About 55 Littoral Combat Ships will be produced over a 12-year period.
Under Alcoa’s contract with the Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Carderock Division, the company provides design and engineering development support to both LCS teams. Alcoa also supplies marine plate and fabricated aluminum subassemblies for the Austal LCS.