USS Billings

USS Billings conducting trials on Lake Michigan on 6 December 2018
History
United States
Name	Billings
Namesake	Billings
Awarded	29 December 2010 [1]
Builder	Marinette Marine [1]
Laid down	2 November 2015 [1]
Launched	1 July 2017 [2]
Sponsored by	Sharla Tester
Christened	1 July 2017
Acquired	1 February 2019 [3]
Commissioned	3 August 2019 [4]
Homeport	Mayport
Identification	MMSI number: 368926295 Hull number: LCS-15
Motto	Big Sky Over Troubled Waters Star Of The Big Ocean
Status	Active
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Freedom-class littoral combat ship
Displacement	3,500 metric tons (3,900 short tons) full load [5]
Length	378.3 ft (115.3 m)
Beam	57.4 ft (17.5 m)
Draft	13.0 ft (4.0 m)
Propulsion	2 Rolls-Royce MT30 36 MW gas turbines, 2 Colt-Pielstick diesel engines, 4 Rolls-Royce waterjets
Speed	45 knots (52 mph; 83 km/h) (sea state 3)
Range	3,500 nmi (6,500 km) at 18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h) [6]
Endurance	21 days (336 hours)
Boats & landing craft carried	11 m RHIB, 40 ft (12 m) high-speed boats
Complement	15 to 50 core crew, 75 mission crew (Blue and Gold crews)
Armament	BAE Systems Mk 110 57 mm gun RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles Honeywell Mk 50 Torpedo NETFIRES PAM missile in the ASuW module 2 .50 cal (12.7 mm) guns can be fitted with up to 4 Bushmaster 30 mm guns
Aircraft carried	2 MH-60R/S Seahawks MQ-8 Fire Scout
Aviation facilities	Flight deck, hangar
Notes	Electrical power is provided by 4 Isotta Fraschini V1708 diesel engines with Hitzinger generator units rated at 800 kW each.

USS Billings (LCS-15) is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. ^[1] She is the first ship in naval service named after Billings, Montana. ^[7]

Design

In 2002, the U.S. Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships. ^[8] The Navy initially ordered two monohull ships from Lockheed Martin, which became known as the Freedom-class littoral combat ships after the first ship of the class, USS Freedom. ^{[8] [9]} Odd-numbered U.S. Navy littoral combat ships are built using the Freedom-class monohull design, while even-numbered ships are based on a competing design, the trimaran hull Independence-class littoral combat ship from General Dynamics. ^[8] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Freedom-class design. ^[8]   Billings is the eighth Freedom-class littoral combat ship to be built.

Billings includes additional stability improvements over the original Freedom design; the stern transom was lengthened and buoyancy tanks were added to the stern to increase weight service and enhance stability. ^[10] The ship will also feature automated sensors to allow "conditions-based maintenance" and reduce crew overwork and fatigue issues that Freedom had on her first deployment. ^[11]

Construction and career

Marinette Marine was awarded the contract to build the ship on 4 March 2013. ^[1] Construction began on 20 October 2014 and she was launched on 1 July 2017. ^[2] she is homeported to Naval Station Mayport, Florida and assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron Two. In June 2019, Billings visited Cleveland, Ohio. ^[12] Billings sustained damage after hitting Rosaire Desgagnes , a bulk cargo ship in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The incident occurred on 24 June 2019. The vessel's starboard bridge wing was damaged as a result of the collision. ^[13] Billings was officially commissioned in Key West, Florida on 3 August 2019. ^[4]

On the 4 July 2021, a contingent of her crew visited their ship’s namesake city to celebrate Independence Day. ^[14] Later on the 10th of the same month, the ship together with the Dominican Republic Navy conducted a passing exercise (PASSEX). ^[15] 24 August, Billings and Burlington were dispatched to support and provide relief to Haiti after a 7.2-magnitute earthquake that struck Haiti on 14 August. ^[16]

Gallery

• 
  Billings, Indianapolis and St. Louis at the Marinette Marine shipyard on 15 December 2018
• Billings launches sideways into the Menominee River in Marinette, Wisconsin on 1 July 2017

References

1. "Billings (LCS-15)". Naval Vessel Register . Retrieved 25 July 2016.
2. "Lockheed Martin-Led Team Launches Future USS Billings" (Press release). Lockheed Martin. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
3. "Navy Accepts Delivery of Future USS Billings (LCS 15)" (Press release). United States Navy. 5 February 2019. NNS190205-01. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
4. "The U.S. Navy Commissions USS Billings, Eighth Freedom-Variant Littoral Combat Ship" (Press release). United States Navy. 5 August 2019. NNS190805-11. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
5. "Littoral Combat Ship Class - LCS". America's Navy. US Navy. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
6. "Freedom Class LCS Littoral Combat Ship" . Retrieved 18 June 2015.
7. "Navy to name combat ship USS Billings". Billings Gazette. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
8. "US Navy Fact File: Littoral Combat Ship Class – LCS". US Navy. Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
9. O'Rourke, Ronald (4 May 2010). "Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
10. Osborn, Kris (27 June 2014). "Navy Engineers LCS Changes". www.dodbuzz.com. Monster. Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
11. Freedberg Jr., Sydney J. (4 April 2014). "Sleepless In Singapore: LCS Is Undermanned & Overworked, Says GAO". breakingdefense.com. Breaking Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
12. "Navy combat ship USS Billings stops in Cleveland". Fox 8 News. 10 June 2019.
13. Joseph Trevithick (June 25, 2019). "Navy's Newest Littoral Combat Ship Damaged After Smacking Into A Moored Ship In Canada". The War Zone. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
14. "Crew of USS Billings to visit Billings over Independence Day holiday". KTVQ. 2021-07-01. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
15. "U.S. and Dominican Republic Strengthen Bonds". DVIDS. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
16. Staff, Seapower (2021-08-24). "USS Billings and USNS Burlington Support Haiti Relief". Seapower. Retrieved 2021-08-30.

•  This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register , which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain .The entry can be found here .