USN Marks Fourth Littoral Combat Ship Deployment in Singapore after 19-Month Hiatus

09 Juli 2019

The US Navy has deployed its fourth littoral combat ship to Singapore. The vessel will be involved in maritime security, and capacity-building efforts with partners in the region over the next few months (photo : USN 7th fleet)

The US Navy's (USN's) Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Montgomery (LCS 8) arrived at Singapore's Changi Naval Base on 6 July, marking the service's fourth rotational deployment of this vessel type to the republic.

Montgomery is part of the USN's long-standing plan to rotationally deploy LCSs out of Singapore. Previous ships that have operated out of the republic's Changi and Sembawang naval bases are namely USS Freedom (LCS 1), USS Fort Worth (LCS 3), and USS Coronado (LCS 4).

Coronado departed Singapore in November 2017 after a 14-month tour-of-duty in Southeast Asia, and there have been no other rotational deployments of the LCS in the republic since then.

"Rotational deployments by our littoral combat ships provide the presence and flexibility that are so important in this region," said Rear Admiral Joey Tynch, commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific, in a statement released by the US Embassy in Singapore.

"This platform is a utility player, ready to perform a full spectrum of tasking from maritime security operations and theatre security co-operation to humanitarian assistance and disaster response. That versatility strengthens our ability to integrate with our partner navies in the Indo-Pacific," he said.

(Jane's)