Description
The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Mine Countermeasures (MCM) Mission Package (MP) supports MCM operations through the employment of aviation assets and unmanned surface, semi-submersible and submersible vehicles that are equipped with an array of sensors and systems to detect, localize and neutralize surface, near surface, in-volume and bottom mines. These systems are designed to be employed while the LCS remains outside the mine threat area. The MCM MP also provides the capability to sweep mines and detect beach zone and buried mines.  

Features
Remote Minehunting (RMH) Module
(Note: The first MCM Module will certify with the Increment 1 Remote Minehunting System (RMS) and will then transition to the Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle for follow-on MCM Modules)
• Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV)
• AQS-20 Mine Hunting Sonar
• Cradle Pallet Assembly
• Capture Spine
• Support Containers
Near Surface Detection (NSD) Module
• MH-60S Helicopter
• AN/AES-1 Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS)
• Support Containers
Airborne Mine Neutralization (AMN) Module
• MH-60S Helicopter
• AN/ASQ-235 Airborne Mine Neutralization Systems (AMNS)
• EX 64 neutralizers
• Support Containers
Coastal Mine Reconnaissance (CMR) Module
• AN/DVS-1 Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) System
• Post Mission Analysis (PMA) Workstation
• (1) MQ-8B Firescout Vertical Takeoff Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (VTUAV)
• Support Containers
Unmanned Mine Sweeping (UMS) Module
• CUSV
• Unmanned Surface Sweep System (USSS)
• Support Container
Buried Mine Hunting (BMH) Module
• Surface Mine Countermeasure Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (SMCM UUV) (Knifefish)
• Vehicle Maintenance Cradle (VMC)
• Vehicle Base Pallet (VBP)
• Launch and Recovery Cradle (LRC)
• Support Container
Mission Package Application Software (MPAS)
• PMA software for CMR and BMH modules
• Mission-specific application software
• Mine Warfare and Environmental Decision Aids Library (MEDAL)
Organic PMA Workstation (OPMA)
Mission Package Computing Environment (MPCE)
Computing equipment that supports all MPs and MPAS  

Background
The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is a fast, agile and networked surface combatant optimized for operating in the littorals. The primary missions for the LCS include countering submarine, surface and mine threats to assure maritime access for joint forces. The underlying strength of the LCS lies in its innovative design, applying modularity for operational flexibility. Fundamental to this approach is the capability to rapidly install an interchangeable mission package (MP) into the ship to fulfill a specific mission and to later uninstall, maintain and upgrade it at the Mission Package Support Facility (MPSF) for future use aboard any LCS.

Mission packages (MPs) were created for LCS in response to an evolving threat environment. All mission packages are interchangeable between both LCS variants. Mission Package can be decomposed as follows:

• Mission Systems = Vehicles, Sensors, and Weapons
• Mission Module = Mission Systems + Support Equipment
• Mission Package = Mission Modules + Mission Crew Detachments + Aircraft

The Mission Package Computing Environment (MPCE) is the hardware computing suite installed in each ship. The Mission Package Application Software (MPAS) is the software that runs on the MPCE computer. There are currently three versions of MPAS which support the three different MPs: Surface Warfare (SUW), Mine Countermeasures (MCM) and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW). The quantity of each MP type differs based on an analysis of projected operational needs. Currently, the Navy plans to build (28) LCS ships and (16) MCM MPs.