The world’s largest military-industrial company, the American Lockheed Martin, has stopped supplying the US Navy with Freedom-class coastal warships, Defense News reports.
According to the publication, the reason for the temporary suspension of supplies was a design flaw in the propulsion system of the ship, in the development of which the German company Renk took part. Defense News, citing an anonymous source in the US Navy, writes that troubleshooting each of the Freedom-class ships will take months.
In October 2020, the publication reported that the Detroit Freedom-class ship broke down while off the coast of South America due to problems with the propulsion system.
The Freedom-class fast monohull ship belongs to the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) line, designed for coastal patrolling, countering enemy surface and submarine forces, countering drones and reconnaissance. The ship receives a combined propulsion system. In particular, at a speed of 10-12 knots, a pair of diesel engines works, while acceleration to 40 knots involves two gas turbines.