As part of Monday’s opening of the CARAT 2015 naval drill,
members of the press, who covered the formal opening event toured the USS Fort
Worth (LCS-3), a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the U.S. Navy.
"It's a relatively new ship class from US Navy; it's
fast with over 40 knots (74+km/h) speed that can travel through the
water," said Commanding Officer Michael Jarett, Jr. as he briefed the
media about the LCS 3 that will be participating for the first time in the
naval exercises.
"It's really an exciting opportunity for us to come and
interact with the Philippine Navy (PN), and to conduct training with them, and
for us to learn some inter-operability with them as well," he said.
The USS Fort Worth, with just a hundred crewmen, is equipped
for a "conduct prompt, sustained combat operations at-sea" as it is
"designed to defeat growing littoral threats and provide access and
dominance in the coastal water battlespace."
It is said that "LCSs have the capabilities of a small
assault transport, including a flight deck and hangar for housing two SH-60 or
MH-60 Seahawk helicopters, a stern ramp for operating small boats, and the
cargo volume and payload to deliver a small assault force with fighting
vehicles to a roll-on/roll-off port facility."
It is armed with Mark 110 57 mm guns and “rolling airframe
missiles,” particularly the RIM 116 small, lightweight, infrared homing
surface-to-air missile.
Jarett said the LCS 3 "has a shallow ramp" that is
good enough for them to "access areas close to the shore that larger
surface combatants are unable to access."
Asked if – given its shallow ramp – it could sail through
shallow areas in the China-claimed shoals in the disputed West Philippines
Sea
"We can access a lot of areas not limited by our ramp
which [permits us to draw] close to a lot of different shallow water places in
the world," he said.
Jarett further refused to comment relating to the disputed
sea. "I really can't comment on where we've been, where exactly we've been
operating, but we're operating within international waters..."
The USS Fort Worth has an aviation detachment from the
"Magicians" of Helicopter of Maritime Strike Squadron 35, the US
Navy's first composite expeditionary helicopter squadron. The detachment
consists of one MH-60R Seahawk helicopter and MQ-8B Fire Scout Vertical Take
Off and Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (VTUAV).
"It is the first time that we deployed the ship that
has both the manned and unmanned aircraft together with the same crew operating
those two aircraft," said Jarett, adding the latter will complement with
the former "by extending the range and endurance thereby enhancing
maritime domain awareness."
According to him, this LCS has an internal carrying capacity
that can be used in delivering military assistance in disaster relief just like
the USS Freedom (LSC 1) way back in 2013.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=775208
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