Assistant Secretary of the Navy John Young briefs reporters at the Pentagon. Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition John Young briefs reporters at the Pentagon on the new class of Navy ships known as Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) on May 27, 2004. Young announced the awarding of contracts to Lockheed Martin Corporation, Maritime Systems & Sensors in Moorestown, N.J., and General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, to produce two prototype ships each. The new vessels will be fast, agile, and networked surface combatants featuring modular, focused-mission, weapon and sensor packages. They will be able to deploy the latest in manned and unmanned vehicles to perform intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The prototype ships will undergo extensive testing before decisions are made regarding production contract awards. SHARE: Download: Full Size (0.05 MB) Credit: VIRIN: 018370-L-AEW70-657.jpg Photo Gallery