1st LCS Advanced Training w/ 2 ships

The Navy conducted its first advanced tactical training maneuver with the Littoral Combat Ship in advance of USS Montgomery’s (LCS-8) deployment to the Pacific theater later in 2019. USS Montgomery’s training was a smaller version of the Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training (SWATT) events that cruisers, destroyers, and amphibious ships go through before deploying. Montgomery conducted its five-day at-sea training with another LCS - Independence (LCS-2) - and a replenishment oiler, Lt. Cmdr. Nick VanWagoner, lead planner for the LCS SWATT, told USNI News. The next two LCS crews to deploy will be included in a larger cruiser/destroyer SWATT event this summer while the Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center (SMWDC) learns more about the capabilities and limitations of the LCS, and how to ensure crews are trained for solo and larger formation operations. When Montgomery deploys in the coming months, it will be different than other surface ships in the fleet - with a crew of about 70 sailors compared to about 350 on a destroyer. It will operate with only its surface warfare mission package and the Blue Crew, which went through the recent SWATT event, will rotate with Gold Crew every four-to-six months. Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23 embarked with its MH-60S helicopters and the MQ-8 Fire Scout aboard LCS-8. The crew also conducted life-fire exercises. The crew also used the SeaRAM missile defense system and defeated a threat in the first salvo, VanWagoner said. This summer, two LCS crews – the first deploying crew of USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10) and the Gold Crew from Montgomery – will conduct a SWATT with a carrier strike group’s surface ships. (Source: USNI News 05/06/19) Gulf Coast Note: Independence class - even numbered hulls - are built at Austal USA's shipyard in Mobile, Ala.