The US Navy has christened its newest Independence-class littoral combat ship (LCS), the future USS Oakland (LCS 24).
The naming ceremony was held at Austal USA’s facility in Mobile, Alabama.
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The future USS Oakland can operate in near-shore environments and open-ocean.
Sponsored by Google sustainability officer Kate Brandt, LCS 24 is the third US Navy ship to be named in honour of Oakland.
US Navy Secretary Richard Spencer said: “The christening of the future USS Oakland marks an important step toward this great ship’s entry into the fleet.
“The dedication and skilled work of our industry partners ensure this ship will represent the great city of Oakland and serve our Navy and Marine Corps team for decades to come.”
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By GlobalDataThe fast, agile, focused-mission vessel is capable of defeating asymmetric ‘anti-access’ threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft.
LCS 24 will be homeported in Naval base San Diego where it will join some of the other LCS vessels.
The navy operates two variants of LCS, which are Freedom and Independence.
While the Freedom-class LCS is built by a Lockheed Martin-led industry team in Marinette, Wisconsin, the Independence-variant team is led by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama.
Austal delivered its tenth Independence-class ship, the future USS Cincinnati (LCS 20), to the US Navy last week.
Alabama shipyard is building five LCSs, which are under various stages of construction.
The Austal team is under contract to build four additional ships through LCS 38.
The navy will use the LCS vessels for mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare missions.
