The Lockheed Martin-led shipbuilding team launched Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 21, the future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul into the Menominee River at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine Shipyard. Ship sponsor Jodi J. Greene, Deputy Under Secretary of the U.S. Navy for Policy, christened LCS 21 just prior to launch.
The U.S. Navy held a keel laying and authentication ceremony for the future littoral combat ship USS Marinette (LCS 25) in Marinette, Wisconsin March 27. The keel laying symbolically recognizes the joining of the ship's components and the ceremonial beginning of the ship.
At the SNA 2019 symposium held in mid-January, Lockheed Martin unveiled a scale model dubbed "LCS with Lethality and Survivability Upgrades"
Here is NavalNews.com's first monthly report (February 2019). Naval News Monthly Reports are video round ups of the most read naval defense news articles we published in the past month.
The littoral combat ship USS Charleston (LCS 18) was commissioned into the U.S. Navy during a ceremony in Charleston, South Carolina, March 2. USS Charleston is the 16th littoral combat ship to enter the U.S. Navy fleet and the 9th of the Austal-built Independence-class.
Construction on the future USS Canberra (LCS 30) began on Feb. 22 in Austal USA's module manufacturing facility. Dave Growden, native Australian, LCS Program Director and a 30-year member of Austal USA's team, had the honor of pushing the button to start the router that cut the first piece of aluminum, signalling start of construction for the 15th Independence-variant littoral combat ship.
The littoral combat ship USS Tulsa (LCS 16) was commissioned into the U.S. Navy during a ceremony in San Francisco Feb. 16. USS Tulsa is the 15th littoral combat ship and the eighth of the Austal-built Independence-class.
US Navy's future USS Cincinnati (LCS 20) successfully concluded acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico Feb. 8, following a series of in-port and underway demonstrations for the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey, US Navy PEO Unmanned and Small Combatants Public Affairs said on Feb. 12.
Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) delivered another Littoral Combat Ship, the future USS Billings (LCS 15) to the U.S. Navy.
The Secretary of the US Navy has named littoral combat ships 36 and 38, Austal USA said on February 5. LCS 36 is the USS Kingsville after Kingsville, Texas, and LCS 38 is USS Pierre after the capitol city of South Dakota.
