Indian Navy’s next generation OPV fleet advances with keel-laying of third vessel
The ship is the third in a fleet of 11, with the first vessel due to be delivered in 2026.
USN awards Independence-class LCS logistics support contract
USS Independence pictured in the Pacific Ocean. (Photo: USN/Chief Mass Communication Specialist Shannon Renfroe)
Austal USA — which built the Independence-class LCS vessels — could maintain them at bases in the Asia-Pacific region until late 2026.
Austal USA is to provide ‘emergent repair and continuous maintenance’ for Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs) operating in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, under a new $72.51 million contract from the US Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center in Yokosuka and Singapore.
‘The contract will include a one 24-month base period beginning in January with three additional 12-month option periods,’ the DoD announced on 23 November.
‘Work will be primarily performed in Singapore, with a percentage that cannot be determined at this time in countries and ports within the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean,’ the DoD added.
If contract options are exercised, the total value of the contract will rise to $215.88 million and work will be completed by December 2026.
The USN has received 13 out of the 19 Independence-class LCS vessels on order, according to Shephard Defence Insight.
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