![The future USS Billings, a Freedom-class LCS 23e10e774d6f0eed1f20e6ba59e89d58](http://media.assettype.com/bairdmaritime%2Fimport%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fmedia%2Fk2%2Fitems%2Fsrc%2F23e10e774d6f0eed1f20e6ba59e89d58.jpg?w=480&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max)
The US Navy exercised on January 15 a contract option with Lockheed Martin Corporation to purchase one Freedom-class littoral combat ship (LCS).
The ship has been designated LCS 31 and will be built at Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wisconsin.
LCS 31 will be the sixteenth Freedom-class ship to be built for the US Navy.