The US Navy has taken delivery of the 11th Freedom-class littoral combat ship (LCS), the future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS 21).
Delivery of the LCS was accepted at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette on 18 November and marks the official transfer of the ship.
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The LCS has been built by the Lockheed Martin-led industry team at Fincantieri Marinette Marine.
LCS programme manager captain Mike Taylor said: “Today marks a significant shipbuilding milestone in the life of the future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul, an exceptional ship which will conduct operations around the globe.
“I look forward to seeing Minneapolis-Saint Paul join her sister ships with 100% of propulsion power available for unrestricted use.”
The handover follows thorough testing of the vessel’s gear fix, which was delivered to enable unrestricted operations.
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By GlobalDataIt is the first LCS in the Freedom-class to receive the modification.
The future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul is the second naval vessel to be named after Minnesota’s Twin Cities and the first Freedom-variant ship to receive the combining gear upgrade.
LCS 21 can be deployed for operation in littoral environments and open-ocean operation.
The keel laying for the ship was performed in February 2018.
Cooperstown (LCS 23) is expected to be delivered in January next year following successful at-sea testing of its combining gear upgrade.
Marinette (LCS 25), Nantucket (LCS 27), Beloit (LCS 29) and Cleveland (LCS 31) are the other ships currently in various construction stages.
