PORT HUENEME,
California – USS Coronado (LCS 4) successfully tracked and neutralized both
single and multiple fast inshore attack craft during live-fire testing off the
coast of California July 18-22.
The ship’s
crew and embarked surface warfare (SUW) mission package (MP) detachment
conducted test events using the ship’s core weapons system — the Mk 110 57mm
gun—and the embarked SUW MP Mk 46 30mm gun weapon systems (GWS) against a
“swarm raid” of representative fast inshore attack craft. In a swarm raid,
multiple enemy ships attempt to attack a ship using large numbers of smaller
craft.
The test validated
the accuracy and capability of the ship’s weapons systems against
representative attack craft in an operationally realistic scenario. This test
is part of a larger series of test and trial events which will culminate this
fall in the Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) of the
Independence-variant LCS operating with a surface warfare mission package.
IOT&E is a major developmental milestone for defense systems, confirming a
system is operationally effective as designed and built. The Navy completed
Freedom-variant testing last fall aboard USS Fort Worth (LCS 3).
“After
extensive testing, the Mk 110 serves as a powerful deterrent capability in
protection of both the USS Coronado’s crew and those of her sister littoral
combat ships,” said the ship’s commanding officer, Cmdr. Peter Kim. “The Mk 110
paired with the surface warfare mission package expands the ship’s ability to
defend against threats faced in a global environment and testing further proves
these weapons systems are highly-capable and versatile against multiple
representative fast [inshore] attack craft.”
The Mk 110 is
an adaptable weapons system capable of firing up to four rounds per second. The
gun is also capable of using programmable, proximity-fuzed smart
ammunitionwhich features six selectable modes of fire. The Mk 50
gun mission modules are designed to destroy enemy small boats by direct fire,
complementing the ship’s 57mm gun by covering a different attack range and
angle. Enclosed in the MK 50 Mod 0 GMM
structure, is the MK 44 Mod 2 30mm automatic gun in a MK 46 turret. The gun can
be fired in single shot, five-round bursts, and unlimited length bursts at a rate
of 200 rounds per minute. To optimize
accuracy against small, high-speed targets, the gun system uses a
forward-looking infrared sensor, a low light television camera, and laser range
finder with a closed-loop tracking system.
Program
Executive Office Littoral Combat Ships (PEO LCS) is responsible for delivering
and sustaining littoral mission capabilities to the fleet. Delivering
high-quality warfighting assets while balancing affordability and capability is
key to supporting the nation's maritime strategy.