The US Navy’s Independence-class littoral combat ship (LCS), the future USS Savannah (LCS 28), has successfully completed acceptance trials prior to its delivery.
The trials in the Gulf of Mexico followed a series of in-port and underway demonstrations.
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During testing, the US Navy conducted comprehensive tests on the ship’s systems across multiple functionalities including main propulsion, auxiliaries and electrical systems.
Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) said that USS Savannah also underwent a full-power demonstration, steering and quick reversal, anchor drop test, as well as a combat system detect-to-engage sequence.
LCS programme manager captain Mike Taylor said: “I continue to be impressed with the outstanding results achieved by the navy and industry team during acceptance trials for LCS ships.
“The future USS Savannah set the bar even higher and exceeded expectations. Our warfighting capabilities continue to evolve, and each LCS that meets this milestone further demonstrates progressive improvements in tactical performance and mission readiness.”
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By GlobalDataThe ship will be delivered to the navy next month. Upon commissioning, Savannah will sail to California to operate with its sister ships.
Construction of four other Independence-variant ships is currently underway at Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama.
Meanwhile, final assembly is in progress on Canberra (LCS 30) and Santa Barbara (LCS 32), and module fabrication for Augusta (LCS 34), and initial fabrication for Kingsville (LCS 36) has already started.
The US Navy’s LCS programme involves the construction of the vessels in two variants, the Freedom-class and the Independence-class.
The LCS is a fast, highly manoeuvrable, networked surface combat ship capable of conducting surface, anti-submarine and mine countermeasure missions, as well as manned and unmanned aerial, surface or sub-surface operations.
