The Littoral Combat Ship is the Navy’s newest class of warship. The INDEPENDENCE variant LCS is an aluminum Stabilized Slender Monohull ship and the FREEDOM variant LCS is a steel Double Chine Advanced Semi-Planing Monohull ship.

Navy war games, fleet experiments and analytic studies conducted after the end of the Cold War and Operation DESERT STORM determined the need for a new class of small surface combatants designed to operate in the congested near-shore region. In response, the Navy announced it would build a new generation of small, fast, and agile ships designed to neutralize small boats, quiet diesel electric submarines and mine threats found in the littorals.