General Dynamics at IDEX 09

General Dynamics has issued a press release regarding their showcases at the International Defense Exhibition & Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Feb. 22-26, 2009. I thought the following bits were interesting.

General Dynamics will showcase the Multi-Mission Combatant variant of its U.S. Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) at IDEX ’09. General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, located in Bath, Maine, is the prime contractor for the General Dynamics LCS Team that is currently constructing Independence, the U.S. Navy’s first LCS with a trimaran hull form. General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, of Fairfax, Va., is the platform systems engineering agent, leading the ship’s open-architecture-based Core Mission System design and integration from its Pittsfield, Mass., facility.

• The LCS-based Multi-Mission Combatant is a flexible, shallow-draft, high-speed ship capable of conducting simultaneous missions that are required by today’s global naval forces. The ship features an innovative trimaran hull form that provides outstanding stability, volume and sea keeping; a flight deck that is nearly three times the size of any other surface combatant; and a mission system that is built upon the General Dynamics OPEN CI open architecture computing infrastructure.
• The LCS and its variants are specifically designed to enable the maximum capabilities of the latest emerging air, surface and undersea warfare technologies. The flexible and open combat system design of the General Dynamics Multi-Mission Combatant will provide our future customers the ability to seamlessly integrate their desired weapons and sensors faster and more efficiently than ever before.
  

General Dynamics NASSCO showcases the multi-mission auxiliary support ship for tomorrow.

• Logistics Support Ship (LSS) - LSS is a flexible, multi-mission vessel based on the U.S. Navy’s T-AKE auxiliary ship. The LSS variant has the ability to supply more than 5,000 tons of dry cargo, deliver 23,000 barrels of fuel, accommodate more than 900 people and utilize advanced C4I systems. With these capabilities, LSS can sustain forces from the sea, assist with humanitarian aid and disaster relief, and serve in command and control roles.

I wonder if LSS can be a LCS tender?