Navy to Decommission Littoral Combat Ship Fort Worth

July 29, 2026 |

The U.S. Navy will decommission Freedom-variant littoral combat ship, USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) during a ceremony held July 29 at 10 a.m. PDT at Naval Base San Diego.

As an operational unit and test platform, Fort Worth and its crew played an important role in the defense of our nation and maritime freedom. Fort Worth and its Sailors were key to determining the operational configuration and deployment capabilities of today's LCS platform.

The honorable Gordon England, former Secretary of the Navy, will deliver the decommissioning ceremony's principal address. Remarks will also be provided by U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Matthew Kawas, the ship's sponsor's proxy, Ms. Jill J.R. Labbe, and U.S. Navy Capt. (ret.) Warren Cupps.

The ceremony will honor the service and legacy of Fort Worth, as well as the professionalism and dedication of its Sailors and their families.

LCS' are fast, optimally manned, mission-tailored surface combatants that operate in near-shore and open-ocean environments, winning against 21st-century coastal threats. LCS integrates with joint, combined, manned, and unmanned teams to support forward presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence missions around the globe.

The LCS class consists of two variants, Freedom and Independence, designed and built by two industry teams. USS Fort Worth is a Freedom-class LCS, built in Marinette, Wisconsin. Austal USA leads the Independence-variant team in Mobile, Alabama, for LCS 6 and the subsequent even-numbered hulls.

By retiring early-hull test platforms like Fort Worth, the Navy redirects investments toward upgrading the remaining LCS inventory with enhanced capabilities. This strategy sustains the LCS program and underscores the Navy's commitment to building America's Fleet of the Future, ensuring the active ships remain relevant, combat-credible, and reliable throughout their service lives.

For 250 years, American naval power has projected strength globally, operating forward 24/7, 365 days a year. This operational tempo demands continuous capability, and the Fleet of the Future is our answer.

Join the ceremony live stream. https://youtube.com/live/-a-bWFo-Re8?feature=share

Media may direct queries to the Navy Office of Information at (703) 697-5342.

Fort Worth Conducts First Maintenance Availability in Sembawang

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joe Bishop, Navy Public Affairs Support Element West

SEMBAWANG, Singapore (NNS) -- The littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) is making preparations to get underway from Sembawang after successfully conducting preventive maintenance availability (PMAV) and restricted availability (RAV) maintenance.

This availability was particularly unique, as it was the first maintenance availability conducted at Sembawang. Typically Fort Worth will conduct maintenance availabilities at Changi Naval Base, but the ability to shift the location to a different port further demonstrates the flexibility of the ship as well as the shore support, which will be beneficial when more LCSs are operating in the region.

"With only two weeks to refit the ship and conduct preventive maintenance, all parties had to be firing in sync and on all cylinders," said Cmdr. Christopher Brown, commanding officer of Fort Worth. "And they certainly did."

After a scheduled underway period where Fort Worth completed Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Indonesia, as well as CARAT Malaysia, the ship was due for an in port maintenance period.

"The point of RAV is to get the ship re-fitted and repairs accomplished which otherwise could not be conducted at sea," said Lt. Lakir Patel, main propulsion assistant of Fort Worth. "It is also a time when major maintenance is completed, which requires contractors because typically the scope of such work is outside the ship's capabilities, especially given the LCS operational manning."

This maintenance period had the added complexity of simultaneously undertaking both restricted availability maintenance and preventive maintenance.

"RAV started two days before PMAV to ensure work on the corrective maintenance side could commence prior to the preventive maintenance," said Patel. "PMAV is a time in port when the ship completes all required preventive maintenance on vital systems to support operational requirements. During RAV we fix items that are broken, and during PMAV we prevent items from breaking in the future."

"For this in port maintenance period Fort Worth completed 638 PMS (preventive maintenance system) checks with 96 checks added after we commenced the availability for a total of 744 PMS checks," said Brown. "Additionally, we completed 25 RAV scheduled repairs, 20 Voyage repairs, and a major "D-Phase" maintenance availability on our embarked MH-60R(helicopter)."

In the Airborne Mission Zone sailors assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 35, Detachment 3, currently embarked aboard Fort Worth, were engaged in tearing down and inspecting major and minor components of the MH-60R Seahawk helicopter.

"The Enforcers (Detachment 3) completed Phase D while Fort Worth was is in port for RAV/PMAV," said Lt. Mark Edson, maintenance officer for HSM-35, Detachment 3. "This is scheduled maintenance that is completed based off flight hours on the aircraft. The focus of maintenance has been on the rotor head of the aircraft, requiring the maintainers to disassemble and reassemble the rotor head, along with various other components of the aircraft. The Enforcers have done an excellent job of this task."

The hundreds of preventive maintenance checks that Crew 102 performed over the maintenance period varied from simple tasks to complicated undertakings.

"We have maintenance on everything from ship's ventilation systems to checks on habitability gear, combat systems gear and all of the engineering equipment," said Patel. "This could be as simple as changing filters or replacing batteries to more extensive checks such as TRS-3D (Fort Worth's radar) output frequency checks."

Fort Worth is the second LCS to deploy to U.S. 7th Fleet as part of an initiative to simultaneously deploy up to four LCS to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region in just a few years. The third and fourth LCSs are planned to arrive in 2016, when the region will see two of these ships deployed at the same time.

USS Fort Worth Completes 2015 CARAT With Indonesia and Malaysia

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joe Bishop, USS Fort Worth Public Affairs

SULU SEA (NNS) -- The littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) wrapped up its participation in Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercises with both Indonesia and Malaysia following an Aug. 21 closing ceremony held in Sandakan, Malaysia.

CARAT is a series of bilateral naval exercises between the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and the armed forces of Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste.

In deepening navy-to-navy relationships, Fort Worth visited Surabaya, Indonesia, for the first time in her 16-month rotational deployment to U.S. 7th Fleet. This port visit is particularly significant for Fort Worth, as she was part of the Indonesian-led Air Asia search efforts in the Java Sea.

"It was a pleasure operating at sea with our TNI-AL (Tentara Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Laut) naval partners during the sea phase of CARAT Indonesia", said Cmdr. Christopher Brown, commanding officer of Fort Worth. "Fort Worth once again demonstrated its combat capabilities and relevance in the region while fostering long-term personal and professional relationships with our Southeast Asian partners."

CARAT is a model of how the TNI-AL and U.S. Navies can cooperate and work together to enhance interoperability, develop relationships and address shared maritime security priorities, as in the visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) exercises. TNI Sailors conducted their first VBSS boarding of Fort Worth during this year's CARAT.

"During CARAT Indonesia LCS SUW DET FOUR (Surface Warfare Mission Package, Detachment 4) and the Indonesian navy had an outstanding opportunity to interact and exchange VBSS tactics and hold discussions about our different capabilities", said Lt. j.g. Andrew Pena, officer in charge of Detachment 4. "These positive interactions culminated in two successful at-sea VBSS exercises between our Navies."

This year's CARAT Indonesia also provided the opportunity for TNI pilots to practice deck landings on the flight deck of Fort Worth with a Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm BO-105 Indonesian navy helicopter.

CARAT Malaysia 2015 consists of five days of shore-based and at sea training events designed to address shared maritime security concerns, build relationships, and enhance interoperability among participating forces.

"This marks the 21st year that the U.S. and Malaysian Armed Forces have come together for CARAT and our enhanced military partnership today reflects the maturity of this relationship," said Rear Adm. Charlie Williams, commander, Task Force 73. "Partnerships matter in this region; sustained partnerships matter even more."

The Royal Malaysian Navy for the first time conducted deck landing practice with its Super Lynx helicopter on the flight deck of Fort Worth. The bilateral and multilateral exercises provide a regional venue to develop strong maritime partnerships that contribute to the greater peace and stability of the region.

"CARAT is a practical way for our two navies to address shared maritime security priorities in a realistic training environment," said Capt. H.B. Le, commodore, Destroyer Squadron 7.

"The Malaysian Armed Forces have been a part of CARAT since its inception, and our partnership's spanning more than two decades demonstrates a firm mutual commitment to stability and security throughout the region."

U.S. units participating in the exercise include the littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3), the amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42), a P-3C Orion, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 5, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 5, Coastal Riverine Group (CRG) 1, and U.S. Marines assigned to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (III MEB).

The U.S. 7th Fleet conducts forward-deployed naval operations in support of U.S. national interests in the Indo-Asia-Pacific area of operations. As the U.S. Navy's largest numbered fleet, U.S. 7th Fleet interacts with 35 other maritime nations to build partnerships that foster maritime security, promote stability and prevent conflict.