ARLINGTON, Va.- The U.S. Navy is looking at the Mk 70 Payload Delivery System, a 40-foot-long container with four strike-length Mk 41 vertical launching system cells, to deliver “offensive capability” aboard the fleet’s lightly armed Littoral Combat Ships.
Capt. Matthew Lehmann, program manager of Naval Sea Systems Command’s LCS Mission Modules (PMS 420) program office, described the installation of the containerized missile system on USS Nantucket (LCS-27) as a “surprise” and a demonstration of the “intense modularity” that could be deployed on LCS’ to reporters during last week’s at Surface Navy Association 2025.
“I wanted to touch upon at Nantucket commissioning a little surprise that we had for everybody, showing the intense modularity that we can employ on these ships,” said Lehmann.
Capable of supporting SM-6 and Tomahawk cruise missiles, which could strike land and maritime targets out to 450 and 1600 kilometers away, the Mk 70 PDS brings a new strike capability to Independence and Freedom-class LCS. The U.S. Army has operationally deployed a ground-based variant of the Mk 70 PDS called Typhon, also known as Mid-Range Capability, since 2023. This system continually draws ire from Beijing as a result of an ongoing deployment in Northern Luzon that puts Tomahawk missiles in striking range of the Chinese mainland. “Dynamic missile and combat system alignment allows for a rapidly relocatable platform, increasing survivability while intensifying adversary uncertainty,” read a Lockheed Martin product card description of the system.
The program manager’s comments follow last month’s “LCS is back” declaration by former Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro at USNI’s Washington Defense Forum. Del Toro directly cited the installation of Mk.70 on Nantucket and other ships in the future. “Eventually, many will receive the Mk 70 Payload Delivery System with vertical launch system technology.” Chinese state media expressed doubt on the concept, citing long-standing issues with the class and uncertainty about “the feasibility of effectively launching so many missiles.”
While the installation of the system would impede helicopter operations, the Freedom-class variant of the LCS could receive up to 12 missiles spread across three containers on its flight deck according to Lockheed Martin concepts. “What we’re focused on here really is lethality and survivability upgrades for LCS, you know, different kinds of capability that we can put on the ship to basically give it some firepower,” Paul Lemmo, Vice President and General Manager Integrated Warfare Systems & Sensors at Lockheed Martin, told Naval News in an interview.
In 2023, Mk 70 PDS joined the list of planned firepower upgrades after it was deployed on the flight deck of the USS Savannah (LCS 28) and fired an SM-6 missile. Designed to combat lower-end threats, the Independence and Freedom variants of the LCS have faced scrutiny as a result of their lack of firepower and self-protection against peer threats such as those fielded by China, Russia, and Iran. Compared to corvette-sized vessels fielded by other nations, the armament disparities are clear. In recent years, the U.S. Navy has been fitting Naval Strike Missiles to expand the class’ surface warfare capability, which was reliant on its cannon and short-range Hellfire missiles. The service also revealed its work on adding an anti-drone capability to LCS via reprogrammed Surface-to-Surface Missile Module missiles at Surface Navy Association 2025.
