Watch America's $500 million warship blast across the ocean at 47 mph

Today, I'm taking you aboard the USS Savannah, a littoral combat ship in the United States Navy fleet. It's one of the newest, fastest, and most lethal warships ever built, designed to outperform and outmaneuver the enemy, specifically in shallow water coastal regions known as the littorals. It's been a goal of mine to get on a ship like this for a long time, and with some help from the Naval Surface Force here at Naval Base San Diego, we were finally able to make it happen. Today I'll be bringing you along to explore the ship's iconic design and capabilities and hear directly from the sailors themselves on what it's like to live and work aboard the $500 million Littoral Combat Ship. Right now I'm standing on the foc'sle of the USS Savannah, one of the craziest views on the entire ship. Now if you zoom out a little bit and look at this ship from the front, you'll quickly realize that it looks completely different from any other ship in the Navy fleet. The fact is we are getting ready to board this morning. You sort of see the look on people's faces as this thing pulls into port. They're trying to figure out what the heck it is. I even heard it compared to the Klingon bird of prey from Star Trek. Now, I'll be honest, this ship does look crazy, but if you take a second to dive a little bit deeper and start to research the history and the reasons why this ship was designed to look the way that it does, it's pretty eye-opening. The Littoral Combat Ship's history starts back in the 1990s, when the U.S. Navy realized its Cold War-era cruisers and destroyers, which had been designed for open ocean warfare, would be vulnerable in shallow coastal waters, facing threats from high-speed boats, small submarines, underwater mines, and anti-ship missiles. Their solution was to design a new class of warship, one that could fill in those gaps while remaining agile and stealthy, operating in the shallow waters that larger ships historically could not. Fast forward to the early 2000s, two different designs for this new class of littoral combat ship were submitted. The first, known as the Freedom class, features a small and more traditional steel monohull design, giving it added durability while also sitting lower to the water, which makes it easier to launch and recover other craft off the stern ramp. The second design is known as the Independence Class. Much larger and made entirely of aluminum, the Independence features a unique trimaran design with a sleek bow to pierce through the waves and also has a central hole with two outriggers that give the ship added stability. The Navy saw value in both designs and ultimately decided to build both classes of ships, with the Freedom Class stationed on the East Coast and the Independence Class assigned to the West Coast. To this day, 23 Littoral Combat Ships are in active service, with five more to be commissioned in the coming years. Hey Sam, welcome aboard the bridge at USS Savannah. Glad to have you here. This is impressive. Yes. And you're the commanding officer, right? So what's it like to be in charge of so many people? I would say an honor, a privilege, and something I didn't really expect I'd be doing when I was back in high school in New York, or even when I was in college, that I would one day be able to have this level of responsibility and be in charge of a ship that's really this cool. and, in my opinion, kind of biased, the best crew in the U.S. Navy. Well, I would agree, and I would love to do kind of a walk and talk, show and tell. I'm looking at this chair right here. It's got your name on it, right? It's a special chair. I mean, they're all very comfortable. There's many chairs like it. This one is mine. Gives me a good view, obviously, out where we're underway. I can talk to our officer of the deck who's driving the ship. It's a good place to be up here. Great view, million dollar view, I think. This is probably one of the more unique parts of our ship. So when you go on other types of U.S. Navy ships, One, the watchtowers on the bridge are all standing up. So for us, a little different. Our watchtowers are sitting. It's a lot more like an aircraft, like being a pilot or a copilot on a plane. So we have our officer of the deck, who is the primary person in charge of driving the ship. And then they have a junior officer of the deck who would assist them. But unlike other types of ships where there's a lot of people up here doing that, it is just these two people. So unlike a traditional ship that has rudders and propellers, we only have the four water jets to steer us and get us through the water. And unlike other ships that have the big ship's wheel or anything else, we have these that are called combinators and that is how we actually steer the ship. So each individual water jet has its own combinator that you can steer side to side, control how fast you're going this way. We can also link them together where if you steer one, all four move, we can link two at a time, you know, everything like that, which really adds to our maneuverability and makes this ship very unique compared to other ships in the Navy. And this is a really fast ship compared to the other ships in the Navy too, right? What's the max speed it can go and what do you guys typically go at? Yeah, 40 plus knots, right? So in your car, you're at 35 miles an hour. Yeah, it's not that fast. But on the ocean, that's pretty darn fast. You're hauling. Yeah, absolutely. So 40 plus knots, you know, up to hovering in place, which is also what these water jets enable us to do, which again, pretty cool for LCS. So here we are in our integrated command center, which is right behind where we were standing before where the OOD and JOD are driving the ship. So back here at any given time, there's about four people on watch, watch to watch section to include our tactical action officer. Now this person here in concert with our other watch standers are operating the radar, operating the gun. And one thing that I can show you is when it comes time to actually fire the weapon, What that person can do here is raise this part of the console and actuate this right here which will actually fire the gun. After a bunch of setup, there are things that happen to help make that firing chain be completed. So how many people are actually up here at any one time, right? Like I imagine critical phases coming into pier, going underway, there's more, but middle of the night, how many people? Yeah, spot on. So coming in at four, a few more people. Middle of the night, about four people. So you take those four plus the two ship drivers I was talking about up forward, just about six people back here and up there, keeping us safe, managing contacts, you know, while the rest of the crew is sleeping at night. And what lets us be able to do that with some fewer people than other ships have is again that training, the automation built into the system, and just us doing reps and sets and drills and practice to just have that teamwork and all work together with that amount of people. Do you guys have like a auto cruise pilot where you can kind of be hands off or is it constant kind of monitoring the whole time. So we do have an autopilot. When I was on my earlier ships, they also have a version of autopilot, but it wasn't really used that much. Here, it's actually one of those things that helps reduce the amount of people that we need. So instead of having a dedicated helmsman, the officer of the deck is there driving the ship with their hands on those combinators I was talking about, but we also have an actual autopilot that we're still watching it. Yeah. But that'll steer the ship, keep us on track, and that's what the OOD is also controlling as we go. And are you guys able to see, like, you know, you think back to Titanic and icebergs, like, do you have to constantly be looking out for that stuff, or is it just all in the instruments, you know, if there's something coming up? No, I'm glad you asked about that. We do, not everything is completely new school. We do have an actual human being, or two, or three, that are lookouts up here. No way. With binoculars, you know, still looking outside. Yeah, I mean, that's still actually important. Yeah. In terms of, we have cameras, and we have the radars, and everything else, sometimes can't replace that human being out there actually looking out for the iceberg, the little small boat or something else like that. In addition to providing much needed maneuverability in speed in shallow waters, the Littoral Combat Ship's other main advantage is its modularity. It was designed to be reconfigurable, meaning it can rapidly change its roles depending on the specific mission requirements. For each of these roles, different payloads and equipment can be installed on the LCS. And when combined together, one ship can become a complete mission package. So right now I'm standing inside the mission bay, which is below deck inside the main hull of the USS Savannah. Now we just talked about how Littoral Combat ships can swap out their mission packages relatively easily. Remember, it's modularity is one thing that makes the LCS platform so unique. Now all of the equipment needed to swap out into a different package is actually containerized, meaning the guns, the boats, the support equipment, none of that is pre-installed or hardwired directly into the ship, and instead can be craned on and off the ship relatively easily, meaning essentially, it's just plug and play. This is the mission bay here on board USS Savannah, and what we're looking at over here is the MOBACON, or Mobile Container Unit, and what it does is it picks up all of the mission package equipment and brings it on board from the pier into the mission bay and we have them stowed in different areas for access for the different mission tasking and warfare areas. And this boat behind me, you mentioned earlier, it's called a RIB, right? What does that stand for again? Yes sir, a RIB. inflatable boat. This is an 11 meter rib. And what it's used for is alien, my addiction integration operations, drug interdictions, anti-piracy, and other various law enforcement tasking that we may get. And to get this on and off the ship, right, I see this huge crane. How does that work? So this is our twin boom extensible crane system or TBEC for short. And what we do is we use these four lines that are up here to connect to belly bands that'll go underneath this rib. And then we'll we'll lift it up and we'll kick it out of the back. So one thing I've kind of been talking about is the difference between the Freedom Class and the Independence Class Littoral Combat Ship. The Independence Class, you guys are super tall off the water. Is that why the cranes need it? And then the Freedom, you don't need a crane, right? Yes, sir, that's correct. So on the Independence Class, we have a little bit higher off of the waterline, whereas the Freedom Class will be able to ride right up into the back of it because it's a little bit lower in the water. And you are a Bosun's mate, which I was told is one of the oldest, most historic career fields and positions in the Navy. What do you typically do? So our job, we're sort of like a jack of all trades. You generally start off doing a lot of the labor that no one else wants to do, a lot of the grunt stuff, painting, cleaning, that sort of thing. But then you can move on to other areas of the Navy where I actually get the opportunity to drive the ship here. And I started off just like everybody else on one of the bigger ships, sanding and painting and doing all that stuff. And then I worked my way up to now where I'm driving. There's also other riverine squadrons that the Bossa Mates go to. On board here, we also do refueling. We do all the crane operations that are inside of here, and we also go up onto the flight deck and we help the helos land. So I just found out that any U.S. Navy ship that goes underway has to have at least two certified search and rescue swimmers in the event that there's a man overboard. Now I'm here with Ensign Kate Hopp, who is one of those search and rescue swimmers on the USS Savannah. So you're just working, normal day on the ship. Yeah. What happens? Do you hear an alarm? You then have to rush down here to get geared up? Yeah, so they'll make a call over the 1MC, which is the General Announcing System on all ships. And the second you hear that, your one job is to get down to this locker and dress out. And what we dress out in is right over here. So we have a wetsuit, a tri-star, snorkel, goggles, a helmet, and flippers. You dress out as fast as you can and man the boat deck and get in the rib and get ready to load, lower, and launch. Now, when it comes to the weapons system installed on the Littoral Combat Ship, it really depends on the specific mission package that's installed. Starting out on the bow, you'll find the surface-to-surface missile module that can be outfitted to fire the AGM-114 Hellfire Missile System, used primarily to strike land-based targets several nautical miles away. Moving towards the stern of the ship, just above the flight deck, is the C-RAM Anti-Ship Missile Defense System, installed to protect the LCS from cruise missiles, drones, enemy aircraft and other enemy ships. . The Mark 110, the Bofors 57 millimeter, it'll hold 120 rounds, it'll shoot 220 rounds per minute. So this is what we would use primarily for surface defense. Also has the capability of air defense. Mostly operator side, but the way that you do those two things is vastly different. So that's all done elsewhere though. Is it able to pivot? I see kind of the rotating there, like how much movement you have. 360 degrees. Really? Yeah, so obviously there's safeties in place So you're not going to fire behind you, but the gun will rotate, but it does rotate all the way around. All right, so this is our port and starboard launch ramp for our naval strike missile. We can hold eight on board. They give us a range of about 100 nautical miles. Some of the things you would use those for are mostly offensive at that range. Now I also wanted to make sure I had time to check out the various crew facilities that can be found on the USS Savannah. It's one of those things I had always thought about. When sailors are out at sea living aboard for months at a time, what are the living quarters and amenities like? Well I found out that a Littoral Combat Ship is quite comfortable and has most of everything a sailor might need. Starting out with the sleeping quarters known as berthings, there are multiple different areas broke up typically according to rank. The beds are known as racks and to be honest, they're pretty comfortable. So honestly, it's not too bad. I mean, I think I'd be a little worried of waking up in the middle of the night and banging my head right here. But you can see the sailor's bed here who let me take a quick lie down. They've got a phone mount, they've got some chargers, so you can kind of make this space your own, at least a little bit. And then right here, these straps are kind of interesting. You can connect these right here to the top. The point is, if it's kind of rough out at sea and you're sleeping, that way you won't fall off your rack onto the floor. Sailors have access to a small storage area underneath each rack called a coffin and a separate storage locker for any personal items. In this berthing, which is for senior enlisted, there's also shared bathroom with a shower and a sink. The ship also comes equipped with a full gym as well as a medical clinic and of course a mess hall where sailors can come to eat. So I'm now here on the mess deck and it's lunchtime here on the USS Savannah. Now through these doors is where sailors can come to eat every single day and behind me is where the team of culinary specialists work to prepare the menu and feed the sailors for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Now if you Come follow me. Let's go see what's on the menu. ♪♪ Good morning. My name is Culinary Specialist Second Class Ashley Solis, on board USS Savannah. I am the galley watch captain on board. We serve about 60 people on board, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We have four C.S.s. on board. We have a C.S.C., myself, C.S.2, a C.S.1, C.S.3, and a C.S.3, so actually five C.S.s. So I've always kind of wondered, like, how much are you planning out the meals? How much supplies do you have? How fast does that go when you have all those people hungry? So actually, we have our menu right here. We plan from Thursday to Thursday. Mondays are like Asian meals. Tuesdays are Hispanic, so usually quesadillas mandatory. Wednesdays are burger bar, Thursday's Italian. Friday is finger food, so like chicken tenders, stuff like that. And then Saturday's pizza night. Sunday is surf and turf. So it smells and looks amazing. Yes. What's on the menu for today? So today is Thursday. So today we have chicken parm, lasagna, which we have two options of vegetarian and meat, with a mushroom soup and a tigo blend vegetables and garlic bread. Well, I'm starving. I'm going to grab a tray and give it a Go for it. Thanks so much. Thank you. So this is my completely unbiased review of the food here on the USS Savannah. Honestly, it's pretty good. Toast, crispy, chicken, flavorful, juicy. I mean, the lasagna, the vegetables, the salad. It's not bad. So I'm gonna finish scarfing this down and then we're gonna head back up topside to see the area that I've been most excited to check out. ♪ Got me buzzin', got me all turned up ♪ ♪ Flicker brighter than a lightning bug, oh ♪ Welcome to the largest flight deck of any U.S. Navy surface combat ship. made-up of 11,000 square feet, this flight deck can accommodate all different types of helicopters. Now in front of me through the double doors are the hangers, which can store not one, but two MH-60 Romeos. It's definitely impressive. And because of the unique design from the tri-moran and the outrigger, most of the time during flight deck operations, things are pretty smooth. Lieutenant Commander Jeremy Thomas on board the USS Savannah. I'm the operations officer. So walk me through what your job is like here on the flight deck of the LCS. Mainly my job, if you had to sum it up, you could call me a Tetris player. So my job is to fit the requirements and the wants the needs of the bosses into a time block, into a schedule. So as a part of flight ops with the helo squadron, my job is to make sure that that helo gets from point A to point B safely. So if there are rough seas, or it's nighttime, or it's bad weather, I mean, do things get a lot sketchier out here when helicopters are landing, or is it pretty stable with this type of trimaran? On a legacy ship, such as a destroyer or a cruiser, their flight deck's probably about half the size to this one, however, because it's so huge, it's a lot easier for the helo to land on top of it. So with the ship pitching and rolling, it's easier for them to gauge that and land on It's almost like landing on a football field versus a ping pong table. And we learned a lot about pretty much every sailor working on this ship has multiple jobs. I imagine this isn't your only job. Oh, definitely not. What else are you doing? So I'm also the safety officer, The aviation assistant on board. There's a few other ones I can't really think of So many jobs you can't even remember. There you go, right. My main thing is to make sure that the crew is taken care of and that the schedule is what it needs to be. Has this been a pretty rewarding job for you when you look back? Always, every day, every day. When you have a number of sailors that you work with and for, the reward is them succeeding and them progressing and learning their job and being better human beings every day. Now, as our time aboard the USS Savannah neared its end, I was told there was one more sailor I would have the opportunity to meet. Outside of just showing off cool ships and technology, a goal that I've held on to since the very beginning is helping showcase what life in the military could look like for you, especially if that's a career path you're interested in. Now someone that knows better than anyone what that might look like is Rear Admiral Ted LeClaire. He's the Deputy Commander of the Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. He also just so happens to be the director of Task Force LCS, in charge of thousands of littoral combat ship sailors. So one of my favorite parts of the day was just seeing all of the different sailors at work and the different hats they have to wear. Would you say it takes a specific type of sailor to work on an LCS? Absolutely. You know, every sailor in the United States Navy is important, but it's like, these are my children. Like, so every parent is like, hey, my kids are really special. And the sailors on LCS, they have to in many cases do three, four, or five jobs. And so that is very unique to this ship because, you know, it's an optimally manned ship. And so we have a lot of sensors, there's over 7,000 sensors on this, a lot of technology that is extraordinary. So we have fewer sailors relative to a guided missile destroyer or a big deck amphibious ship where they're very specialized. But here you could see a sailor having to do a few things. You know, one of the cool things about our sailors is their ingenuity, and if you give them a warship and you say go do a mission, they're going to come up with other ways. And I'm sure you experience this in the Air Force. You know, it doesn't matter how junior you are, if you had an idea, good leaders usually listen to that idea. So as someone who's risen the ranks, gained more and more responsibility, now almost 100,000 sailors underneath you, what is that feeling like? I wear my rank as a sense of responsibility. I have to say, the more I've gotten more senior, I actually feel the pressure of just trying to set a better example. Like, oh, I gotta go to the gym. I know it's good for me, but I know it's important for sailors to see me at the gym. I gotta get a haircut, you know, I gotta watch what I eat. But nothing comes close to the responsibility of taking care of sailors. You knew this. I mean, you were a young second lieutenant, then a first lieutenant, then a captain. And we can replace these stanchions. It's a piece of metal. replace it instantly. We can replace this strike shield, but we can't, if something happens to a sailor's life, we can't. When you say 100,000, I even get kind of overwhelmed. Then that means there's 200,000 moms and dads out there who are expecting me to do right by their kid. And so, there you have it, a day aboard the U.S. Navy's Littoral Combat Ship. A huge shout out to the U.S. Navy for making this one possible, and if you'd like to tour any ships or learn more about them yourself, the Navy hosts several opportunities across the country every single year, and there may be a Navy Week or a Fleet Week near you. You can visit the link I've left down in the description below for more information. Don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already, and I'll catch you in the next