The United States has realized that its Navy is insufficiently equipped after its failure to combat the piracy phenomenon that escalated despite its presence in the Gulf of Aden. The need for a speedy warships, which can operate in coastal or littoral waters, was answered with the building of two high-tech naval ships, Independence and Freedom.

Since the Navy needed war vessels that can operate in coastal waters, the competing defense contractors Austal USA and Lockheed Martin Corp. have built 2 Littoral Combat Ships that use powerful diesel engines and turbines for extra speed which can reach to more than 80 kilometers per hour (50 mph).

What characterizes those ships is their ability to get close to shore because of two major changes from the conventional warships, first they use of steerable waterjets instead of rudders and propellers, and second the change in its design gave them shallower drafts that allows them to operate near operate in coastal waters.

Independence was built in Alabama, it is a 418-foot warship which according to the trials made this month off the Gulf of Mexico it can reach a top speed of 93 kilometers per hour (52 mph). As for Freedom, which was built by Lockheed Martin, is a 378-foot warship which was built in Wisconsin.

The trials that included more than 50 demonstrations in the Gulf of Mexico have shown that Independence was able to sustain a speed of almost 80 kilometers per hour at full power run during the four hours trial. The costs to build those ships are estimated at 220 million dollars apiece.

Now the Navy wants to build another 55 Littoral Combat Ships like these two despite the huge costs, which might reach to 460 million dollars apiece since the Navy desires to increase requirements and speed up construction.

But taking into consideration the innovation brought to those ships which answer the demands of the new 21 century, since they are light, fast, highly maneuverable and can accommodate helicopters and host defense modules and high technology, the costs may not be considered high by the US government. Large naval vessels were not able to cruise with more than 65 kilometers per hour (40 mph).

This innovation will permit the US Navy to appropriately fight pirates who attack commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden, and who were able to avoid being caught because of their small speedy boats, and thereby manage to save millions of dollars of ransom and increase safety in the waters.