The U.S. Navy will redefine the roles of its LCSs by equipping them with the advanced Mine Countermeasures Mission Package. In its final form, the MCM MP is a radical departure from the mine countermeasure platforms of the old. It will be an important step toward modernizing the Navy’s mine countermeasure capability, taking over from legacy systems like the MH-53 helicopters and Avenger-class ships.
On April 18, the U.S. The Navy embarked the first MCM MP aboard USS Canberra (LCS 30). This milestone is the official handover of the MCM mission package to the ship and is a demonstration that the crew is trained and ready to start on-board training and maintenance in preparation for its first deployment in Fiscal Year 2025. “The LCS Mission Modules program delivers to the Fleet a modernized and integrated MCM mission package that removes Sailors from the minefield and allows for the future retirement of legacy MCM ships,” said Capt. Matthew Lehmann, program manager of the LCS Mission Modules (PMS 420) program office.
The mission package integrates an unmanned suite of systems and sensors that are designed to find, classify, and destroy mines in littoral zones while increasing the standoff distance of the ship from the threat area. In other words, the package includes sensors, unmanned vehicles, support containers, and software that enable Sailors to execute MCM operations from an Independent-variant LCS. It allows a single LCS or a vessel of opportunity to execute the full spectrum of detect-to-engage operations against mine threats by using sensors and weapons deployed from the MCM USV, an MH-60S multi-mission helicopter, and associated support equipment.
The initial operational capability was achieved on March 31, 2023, for the MCM mission package after the full mission package to include the AN/AQS-20 system underwent intense initial operational testing and evaluation this past fall of 2022 aboard USS Cincinnati (LCS 20). Initial deployment of the first MCM mission packages in FY 2025 will begin the process of divestiture from aging MH-53 helicopters and Avenger Class MCM ships.
This is where Vice Admiral Brendan McLane, the commander of U.S. Naval Surface Forces, has announced the strategic laydown for the three Independence-class LCSs: USS Tulsa (LCS 16), USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32), and USS Canberra (LCS 30), in Bahrain during 2025. Platforms that would replace the legacy MCMs, will also be complemented with a theater expeditionary MCM team to combat enemy mining operations. “The platforms will have the MCM mission package and will replace our legacy MCMs,” McLane said. “But even with these mission packages, we’ll have to incorporate them into a team to be able to combat enemy mining operations.”
These vessels, otherwise known as LCSs by the Navy, can be repurposed into modern mine countermeasures vessels to redefine their role within the fleet. This will be among the very key and effective functions in future operations. Advanced technologies in unmanned systems build from the LCS platform to grant standoff, increase precision, and capacity, and keep personnel out of harm’s way.