The U.S. Navy welcomed another littoral combat ship into its ranks. The USS Nantucket, a Freedom-class littoral combat ship, was commissioned Saturday, Nov. 16 at the Charlestown Navy Ship Yard in Boston.
The USS Nantucket entered active service while laying stern to stern with the Navy’s oldest commissioned ship, the USS Constitution. The wooden sailing ship, with sailors on board, created a contrast with the Freedom-class littoral combat ship that was, earlier this century, meant to represent the future of naval strategy and technology. Now the Navy is working to ditch the littoral combat ship.
Despite the issues that have riddled the program, speakers on Saturday praised the new vessel and its crew. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey called it a “high-tech, fast, agile ship capable of succeeding in the most challenging environments.”
The USS Nantucket is one of 16 Freedom-class littoral combat ships built for the Navy. It was christened and launched in 2021. The ship enters service after years of Navy tests, but the overall littoral combat ship program remains plagued by widespread issues including cost overrun, mechanical failures and growing obsolescence. Both the Government Accountability Office and ProPublica have documented major failures in the program that have led to multiple breakdowns and a reliance on outside contractors to maintain them. The Navy has tried to correct some of the failings, but also has tried to move away from the ships.
The littoral combat ship program launched in the early 2000s when the United States military was focused on combating irregular warfare targets, with strategy aimed at counterinsurgency. Designed to operate near shores — although capable for open-seas conflict — the class ended up unwanted as the U.S. Navy shifted away from counterinsurgency to focus on peer-to-peer strategy. As such, the Navy has been building up bases in the Pacific Ocean as well as continuing to commission guided-missile carriers. The Navy has been looking to sell off several of the ships as a result.
On Saturday, the ship’s executive officer, Commander Angela Eickelmann, called the ship “tested and battle ready.” Despite the focus around the littoral combat ship’s design, the USS Nantucket is equipped for more long-range combat. The ship’s most prominent weapons system is the Over the Horizon – Weapons System (OTH-WS), armed with the anti-ship Naval Strike Missile (NSM), and capable of hitting targets far away.
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The newest Navy ship is the third to be named for the city of Nantucket. The name’s history in the Navy goes back to the Civil War, when the Union commissioned the Passiac-class coastal monitoring ship. The ship saw combat near the shores of the South. It remained in service for years, briefly changing its name and then changing it back to the USS Nantucket.
Despite the Navy’s efforts to give up on the ships, two more Freedom-class littoral combat ships remain to be commissioned, the USS Beloit and USS Cleveland. The USS Beloit will be commissioned later this month. The USS PIerre is the last Independence-class ship left to enter service, after the USS Kingsville was commissioned in August.
Now in service, the USS Nantucket will be based out of Naval Station Mayport in Florida.