Article Posted on : - Jun 17, 2010

The US Navy's first littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) in the Pacific Ocean. Photo: US Navy.

SAN DIEGO (BNS): US Navy’s first Littoral Combat Ship, USS Freedom (LCS 1) has departed from San Diego port on Wednesday to participate in the world's largest maritime exercise with 13 other nations.

The 22nd maritime exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2010 will be held from June 23 to August 1st in the Hawaiian operating area in, and around, the islands of Hawaii.

"RIMPAC is a tremendous opportunity to build upon and to refine Freedom's known surface warfare and maritime security capabilities and to break new ground in LCS employment," Cmdr. Kris Doyle, commanding officer of Freedom's Blue Crew said in a US Navy news release.

"We have several 'first-of' events scheduled, ranging from air defence to anti-submarine to fire support exercises. Every day, we will be stretching ourselves to learn more about what LCS brings to the fleet and how we integrate in a multinational environment,” he added.

Littoral Combat Ship, USS Freedom (LCS 1) is the first ship of the revolutionary LCS program. It is a fast, agile, and maneuverable ship designed to compliment the Navy's larger multi-mission surface combatants in select mission areas, including combating submarines, mines, and fast-attack craft threats in the littorals.

The biennial exercise is based on “Combined Agility, Synergy and Support" theme in RIMPAC 2010.