WASHINGTON — The first in a new class of U.S. Navy combat ships will be sent to Singapore next year for a 10-month deployment, an official said May 10, as the U.S. moves to expand its Asia-Pacific presence.
“The USS Freedom will deploy to Singapore for 10 months in spring 2013,”Navy Lt. Katie Cerezo said in an email to AFP.
The ship belongs to a new class of “littoral combat ships” — smaller, surface vessels intended for operations close to shore and able to deploy quickly to crises that are part of a U.S. strategy focusing on the Asia-Pacific.
The Navy said its force would eventually be equipped with 55 warships of this type, four of which could be deployed in Singapore.
Read the full story at DefenseNews