LCS 20 delivered to USN
The US Navy has accepted delivery of Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 20 from Austal, to be named USS Cincinnati.
Accepted on 21 June during a ceremony in Mobile, Alabama, this is the 18th LCS to be delivered to the USN, and the 10th Independence-class example to join the fleet. Commissioning will take place in Gulfport, Mississippi later this year.
Five additional Independence-variant ships are under construction at Austal USA. These include the USS Kansas City (LCS 22) which is expected to be delivered to the navy later year, plus USS Oakland (LCS 24), USS Mobile (LCS 26), USS Savannah (LCS 28) and USS Canberra (LCS 30), which are all in various stages of construction.
Four more ships are awaiting the start of construction following LCS 30, according to Austal.
LCS is a fast, agile, mission-focused platform designed to operate in near-shore environments, while it is also capable of open-ocean tasking and operating against modern coastal threats such as submarines, mines and swarming small craft. It is capable of supporting forward presence, maritime security, sea control and deterrence.
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