The new littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee broke down in the Atlantic Ocean last week and had to be towed to port in Virginia.
The ship, which will be based in San Diego, was 40 nautical miles off the coast of Norfolk. The USNS Grapple towed the Milwaukee to the Navy’s Little Creek-Fort Story base.
The Navy said the crew noticed metal debris in the ship’s gear filter system on Monday and made repairs. However, the propulsion system broke down on Thursday.
The Milwaukee is a single-hull variant of the littoral combat ship class. It was built in Wisconsin and commissioned in November.
The Navy is building 50 littoral combat ships, which can be configured for antisubmarine warfare, mine warfare, or surface warfare on an as-needed basis.