MARINETTE. Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS) -- Fincantieri Marinette Marine Shipyard is preparing to launch the future USS Minneapolis - Saint Paul into the Menomonee River on Saturday morning. 

Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine Shipyard are proud to partner on producing these ships for the Navy.

2,500 shipyard employees have been working on it for a year and a half.

The ship is a Freedom Class Littoral Shipm which means it's designed to operate in shallow coastal waters. 

"There are many places where Minneapolis - Saint Paul will be deployed. She will probably participate in operations in the Gulf of Mexico area, drug interdictions and so fourth. She will be deployed to the Mediterranean Sea to do presence operations. And, certainly she will take part in operations in the Middle East," explained Lockheed Martin Director of Business Development James Murdoch. 

The ship is designed to be modified to meet evolving threats. 

"We're in the Minneapolis - Saint Paul's Airborne Mission Zone. So, this is some of the open space within the ship where the Navy can put on equipment that adds capabilities to the ship. We would also be able to hold helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles," Lockheed Martin Communication and Relation Representative, Kate Scruggs. 

It's highly automated allowing it to be manned by a lean crew of 40 personnel for the entire ship. 

"Welcome to the Pilot House this is where the captain and the crew will drive. Because it's one of the most automated ships in the Navy, we've taken the engineering department that previously had 40 people, and now all of that work is done by a much smaller team. Less than five people. So, you'd be able to look at the engineering plan and turn it on and off with a touch of a button, and that's all gonna be done from this console right here," explained Scruggs.

The ship offers the largest helo-deck of any surface ship in the Navy for helicopter and drone takeoffs and landings.  

"So you can fly a variety of missions from them. You can support anti-submarine warfare, mine counter measure missions, and general surface warfare operations," explained Scruggs. 

Construction on the ship will continue after the launch on Saturday.

It will be put through operational trials in Lake Michigan.

It will then sail a thousand miles through The Great Lakes into the Atlantic Ocean where it will enter the Navy and serve critical mission around the world.