Defense Technology News – The U.S. Navy will formally decommission the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) during a ceremony scheduled for July 29 at Naval Base San Diego. The event marks the end of active service for a ship that played a foundational role in shaping how the entire Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program operates today.
Throughout its time in service, Fort Worth functioned as both an operational vessel and a key test platform, with the ship and its crew helping determine the operational configuration and deployment capabilities that now define the current generation of LCS ships. Officials describe that testing role as central to the broader development of the LCS fleet, even as the ship itself steps out of active duty.
The decommissioning ceremony's principal address will be delivered by the Honorable Gordon England, a former Secretary of the Navy. Additional remarks are expected from Rear Adm. Matthew Kawas, along with the ship's sponsor's proxy, Jill J.R. Labbe, and retired Capt. Warren Cupps. The ceremony is intended to honor not just the ship itself, but the service and dedication of its Sailors and their families throughout Fort Worth's operational history.
The Littoral Combat Ship class was designed as a fast, optimally manned, and mission-tailored surface combatant, built to operate effectively in both near-shore and open-ocean environments. LCS platforms are engineered to integrate with joint, combined, manned, and unmanned naval teams, supporting missions ranging from forward presence and maritime security to sea control and broader deterrence operations around the world.
The LCS program itself consists of two distinct variants — Freedom and Independence — each designed and built by separate industry teams. USS Fort Worth belongs to the Freedom-class, constructed in Marinette, Wisconsin, while the Independence-variant ships are built by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, covering LCS 6 and subsequent even-numbered hulls in the class.
Retiring early test platforms like Fort Worth allows the Navy to redirect resources toward upgrading the remainder of its active LCS inventory with improved capabilities, a strategy officials say is meant to sustain the broader LCS program over the long term. This approach reflects the Navy's ongoing effort to build what it calls the Fleet of the Future, ensuring that ships remaining in active service stay combat-credible and operationally reliable throughout their service lives.
Officials tied Fort Worth's decommissioning to a broader historical narrative, noting that American naval power has maintained a continuous global presence for 250 years, operating forward around the clock every day of the year — a pace of operations they say requires the kind of continuous fleet modernization that decommissioning aging test platforms like Fort Worth helps make possible.