LCS 4 fires Harpoon on target

The Gulf Coast-built Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) successfully conducted a live-fire exercise of the GM-84D Harpoon Block 1C missile system near Guam on Aug. 22, according to the Navy. The Harpoon, an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system, reportedly destroyed a surface target at significant distance beyond the ship’s visual range. An MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aerial system and MH-60S Seahawk helicopter reportedly provided targeting support for the Harpoon. “Harpoon and Fire Scout showcase one of the growing tool combinations in our modular LCS capability set and this complex shot demonstrates why LCS has Combat as its middle name,” said U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Don Gabrielson, the commander of Task Force 73. The Independence class LCS are built at Austal USA Shipyards in Mobile, Ala. USS Coronado was the first LCS to be fitted with an advanced anti-ship missile system. LCS 4 arrived at Changi Naval Base in Singapore in October 2016 as part of a rotational forward deployment to the Navy’s 7th Fleet. It was the first time an Independence-class LCS had been deployed to Southeast Asia. (Source: The Diplomat 08/22/17)