US Navy takes delivery of its 21st littoral combat ship

The US Navy has taken delivery of the future Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Kansas City (LCS 22) at the Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Alabama.

Kansas City is the 21st LCS delivered to the navy and the 11th Independence variant to join the fleet.

“We have now delivered 11 of the 19 Independence-class LCS currently contracted and it’s very pleasing to see more and more of these ships deployed around the world, adding great capability to the U.S. Navy,” David Singleton, Austal CEO, said.

“I look forward to celebrating the commissioning of this great ship alongside the crew later this year. Kansas City will play an essential role in carrying out our nation’s future maritime strategy,” Capt. Mike Taylor, LCS program manager, commented.

Five Independence-class LCS are under various stages of construction at Austal USA including the future USS Oakland (LCS 24) and USS Mobile (LCS 26) that are preparing for sea trials. Assembly is underway on the future USS Savannah (LCS 28) and USS Canberra (LCS 30), and modules for the future USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32) are under construction in Austal’s module manufacturing facility (MMF). Three more LCS are under contract and scheduled for production, through to LCS 38.

The Independence-class LCS is a fast, agile, focused-mission platform designed for operation in near-shore environments yet capable of open-ocean operation.

The 127-meter trimaran is designed to defeat asymmetric “anti-access” threats such as miners, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft.  The ship integrates new technology and capability to support current and future U.S. Navy mission capability in any operating environment.

Austal USA is also under contract to build 14 expeditionary fast transport vessels (EPF) for the U.S. Navy. The company has delivered 11 EPFs, while an additional two are in various stages of construction at the Mobile, Alabama shipyard.