Navy unveils plan for 16 littorals in San Diego

Additional ships mean 1,700 more sailors


Littoral combat ship USS Freedom Mass Communication Specialist 2n — U.S. Navy


Written by

Jeanette Steele

6:10 p.m., Feb. 2, 2012

The Navy plans to assign as many as 16 of its new littoral ship class to San Diego, up from the dozen reported last year.

A draft environmental assessment released Thursday shows that the ships will mean 1,700 additional sailors for San Diego Naval Base, plus 1,900 family members.

The influx would occur through 2020. The first of the class, the Freedom, arrived in San Diego Bay in April 2010.

The document projects no significant environmental impacts on San Diego as a result of the plan. No construction of new base facilities is expected, according to the report, which is available for public viewing from Friday through March 5.

In the big picture, the Navy envisions 16 littorals on the West Coast and 14 on the East Coast. There’s been discussion of placing some littorals in Singapore, as well.

The Navy has said the full class of these ships will number 55.

The fast, nimble crafts are designed to be able to operate in shallow waters close to shore. They have been criticized for being overbudget and experiencing early maintenance problems.

The Navy is building two versions of the ships. One is a traditional single-hull ship, the first of which is the Freedom. The second version is a trimaran. The Independence, slated to arrive in San Diego this spring, is the first of that version.

In 2005, the Navy conducted an environmental assessment of placing the first four littorals in San Diego. This assessment builds on that plan.

It also describes housing MQ-8B Firescout unmanned helicopters at the Point Magu naval base in Ventura County. These drones are expected to be deployed on the new ships.

The Navy only performed detailed study of one option for placing the 16 littorals, the San Diego scenario, according to the document. Officials discounted other locations, such as the Pacific Northwest, because they didn’t meet the Navy’s criteria.

The public can comment on the environmental assessment through March 5. Copies of the plan are available online at Draft EA for the Homeporting of the LCS on the West Coast and at public libraries in downtown San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, Point Hueneme and Camarillo.

The Navy will take comments online and through the mail. The mailing address is LCS Homeporting EA Project Manager, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, Attn: EV21.AK, Bldg 1, 5th Floor, 1220 Pacific Highway, San Diego, 92132.

Navy unveils plan for 16 littorals in San Diego | UTSanDiego.com