A DIFFERENT KIND OF FAST BOAT. Residents of Marinette, Wisconsin and Menominee, Michigan put aside whatever differences they might have had over college football (although the Central Time Zone part of Michigan is in many ways an extension of Wisconsin, there are a few loyal to that unimaginative band with a good football team attached) to christen USS Freedom, the first of a new generation of littoral combat ships, which in best military form will be referred to hereafter as LCS.

A fast, agile, and high-technology surface combatant, Freedom will act as a platform for launch and recovery of manned and unmanned vehicles. Its modular design will support interchangeable mission packages, allowing the ship to be reconfigured for antisubmarine warfare, mine warfare, or surface warfare missions on an as-needed basis. The LCS will be able to swap out mission packages pierside in a matter of hours, adapting as the tactical situation demands. These ships will also feature advanced networking capability to share tactical information with other Navy aircraft, ships, submarines and joint units.

Freedom is the first of two LCS seaframes being produced. Freedom is an innovative combatant designed to operate quickly in shallow water environments to counter challenging threats in coastal regions, specifically mines, submarines and fast surface craft. The LCS is capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots and can operate in water less than 20 feet deep.

"Recovery of manned and unmanned vehicles." I suspect that refers to helicopters and variations on Predator.