U.S. Navy pictures released September 13 show the vessel with its full load of 8 top side launchers, located forward, right ahead the bridge.
This was confirmed by General Dynamics Mission Systems in a statement released September 26, unveiling on the same occasion the official designation of the NSM in U.S. Navy service: MK 87 Mod 0.
Edit 09/30/2019: An industry source actually informed us today that MK 87 Mod 0 is the designation for the missile launch system.
Naval Strike Missile
General Dynamics Mission Systems explained it has integrated the new over-the-horizon missile capability onto the Independence-class LCS in support of a Chief of Naval Operations mandate to increase LCS lethality and survivability.
General Dynamics is the Independence-variant LCS systems integrator, responsible for the design, integration and testing of the navigation, command, control, computing, and aviation systems on each ship.
The integration of the MK 87 Mod 0 over-the-horizon NSM, aboard the USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10), strengthens the ship’s mission readiness and defensive capabilities. General Dynamics was able to integrate the NSM system by determining equipment placement, adapting the ship’s navigation system to provide unique signals to the missile system, designing the operational station in the Integrated Command Center, designing the system for providing specialized power to the MK 87 and conducting all of the analyses necessary for a safe and effective system. The General Dynamics team, including Austal USA, designed structures and foundations and accomplished the installation in San Diego.
“The open-architecture design of the ship’s computing environment and electronic systems made the design and integration of the new NSM system feasible in an accelerated timeline,”
Carlo Zaffanella, vice president and general manager of maritime and strategic systems at General Dynamics Mission Systems.
The NSM, produced by Kongsberg and managed in the U.S. by Raytheon, is a long-range, precision-strike weapon that can find and destroy enemy ships at distances up to 100 nautical miles.
In addition to the USS Gabrielle Giffords, General Dynamics will serve as the prime contractor for the integration and installation of the NSM capability on all Independence-variant LCSs already in service.
