The USS Freedom (LCS-1)

thingiverse

Filament 1.75 mm ABS White- http://amzn.to/1NFPvrT 0.3mm nozzles- http://amzn.to/1JmLYNr layer height- 0.100mm Supports- Yes The USS Freedom (LCS-1) USS Freedom (LCS-1) is the lead vessel of the Freedom-class littoral combat ships currently in use by the United States Navy. Commissioned in 2008 and homeported in San Diego, she is among the first of a new class of combat vessels designed to replace three different ship types and to provide the US armed forces with a much greater global reach. Freedom’s motto is “Fast, Focused, Fearless”—a fitting description for the ship and her crew. Role Freedom was borne out of the US Navy’s need for a multipurpose combat vessel that could operate effectively in littoral (i.e. close to shore or inland) waterways. Although the navy already has an impressive arsenal of aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, and other “blue water” combat ships that could operate with near impunity in the open ocean, these same vessels are too big and their drafts are too deep to allow them to operate in littoral environments. This consideration is of no small importance since many of the threats to American interests worldwide use the littoral waterways to move around (Among the most notable examples of such threats are drug cartels that use small boats to clandestinely transport narcotics to US shores.). It is hoped that with the deployment of ships like Freedom, the navy could more effectively clear the littoral waterways of potent yet underresourced and underequipped threats. After a string of teething problems, Freedom finally went on her first operational deployment in February 2013, though as of the time of writing, she has not conducted any actual combat missions in relation to her primary role. However, she did go on limited patrols in the South China Sea in May 2013 and even transported humanitarian aid to areas in the Southern Philippines that were ravaged by Typhoon Haiyan later that same year. Design At first glance, Freedom looks like any other modern warship with a huge main gun on the foredeck, a helicopter deck and hangar on the stern, and radar and other sensors on her superstructure. Upon closer inspection, however, one can see that the ship is much more than meets the eye. Freedom as well as other littoral combat ships was designed to be fitted with various mission packages to enable her to effectively perform certain missions: a surface warfare module that allows the ship to take on swarms of smaller hostile warships, an anti-submarine warfare module for defending against submarines, a mine detection and disabling module, and an amphibious module for landing a small seaborne force onto an enemy-held beach. The best part is she can be equipped with any of these mission modules without the need to drastically modify the hull or any other part of her existing structure. With one vessel able to fulfill the roles of three different ship types, Freedom is regarded as a “force multiplier” (as well as a means of ensuring more value for taxpayer money). This ship was built to be survivable in the wake of tragedies such as the deadly suicide bomb attack against the destroyer USS Cole in Yemen in 2000. As such, her hull is made of semi-planing steel while her superstructure is mostly aluminum. Although Freedom is by no means a stealth vessel, the superstructure’s angular design prevents her from sticking out like a sore thumb on any enemy radar screen. This allows her to carry out her mission even in a moderate-to-high threat environment—a capability that few of her direct predecessors possessed. Specifications and Performance Freedom is 378 feet long with a 57.4-foot beam and weighs 2,862 tons. Her draft is a modest 12.8 feet, thus making her ideal for cruising through much shallower littoral waterways. Her maximum range is 3500 nautical miles when cruising at 18 knots (21 mph), though she can reach a top speed of 47 knots (54 mph). She runs on a combination of 2 Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbines, 2 Colt-Pielstick diesel engines, and 4 Rolls-Royce waterjets. The waterjets give Freedom remarkable performance for a ship of her size as they allow her to quickly accelerate to high combat speeds (for instance, to evade enemy attacks), make tight turns, and come to a complete stop in seconds. She has a core crew of 40 sailors in addition to an aviation detachment and a mission package crew of 35 for a total complement of 75 (though the ship was built accommodate up to 100 personnel). The crew is rather small for a ship her size, but with much of her systems being fully automated for greater operational efficiency and versatility, there is a reduced need for manpower. Her hangar is big enough to accommodate 2 MH-60 Seahawk helicopters (the navalized version of the US Army’s celebrated UH-60 Blackhawk), 3 MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned helicopters, or 1 Seahawk and 2 Fire Scouts. The Seahawks can perform search and rescue, medical evacuation, and insertion and extraction of special warfare teams behind enemy lines among other missions while the Fire Scouts can serve reconnaissance, over-the-horizon targeting assistance, limited attack, and resupply roles. Freedom can also accommodate up to 11 rigid-hull inflatable boats (RHIB) in her aft deck and deploy and recover them through either her stern ramp or a starboard side door. These boats can carry small teams of Navy SEALs and Marine recon commandos for special warfare missions in littoral areas. Although Freedom has no offensive firepower other than when she deploys helicopters and armed troops using RHIBs, she is not completely defenseless. She is equipped with a BAE Systems Mk 110 57 mm main gun that could accurately lob high-explosive rounds out to 9,300 yards, 21 supersonic RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles to shoot down any immediate airborne threats, and 2 Mk44 Bushmaster II 30 mm guns and 4 Browning M2 .50-caliber machine guns to ward off small airborne and seaborne threats. She may not pack as much punch as a destroyer, but with all that defensive firepower and with a hull built to take punishment, she is far from being “meat on the table” for any would-be adversary. The Future Freedom is merely the first ship in a planned class of 12. Her sister ship, USS Fort Worth, has been in active service since 2012, and 7 more are currently being built (This number does not include the Independence-class littoral combat ships of which 2 are already in active service and another 7 are under construction.). She was not designed to be the ship that can do it all, but she is nonetheless a vessel capable of defeating smaller yet potent and highly mobile threats against the free world. #MakeItFloat https://youtu.be/CtPu1I6hWf4