TSAMTO, April 21. The command of the US Navy announced the launch ceremony of the new LCS-24 "Oakland" - class coastal warship "Independence", which took place on April 17 in Oakland, California.
As reported by TSAMTO, the construction of the LCS ships is carried out by two main contractors, Lockheed Martin and Austal USA, on alternative projects. The lead ship of the series, LCS-2 Independence, built by a consortium that includes Austal USA, was commissioned into the US Navy on January 16, 2010.
The LCS-24 keel laying ceremony took place at Austal USA on July 20, 2018, the christening took place on June 29, 2019, and the launching took place on July 21, 2019. On June 26, 2020, Oakland was transferred to the U.S. Navy. Once in service, the Oakland will be based in San Diego, where 11 Independence-class ships previously accepted by the US Navy were stationed.
At the moment, Austal USA has transferred 13 ships of the coastal zone to the US Navy. The last in December 2020 was transferred to LCS-26 "Mobile". Now at the Austal USA facility in Mobile (Alabama), several more ships of the series are at various stages of construction: LCS-28 "Savannah", LCS-30 "Canberra", LCS-32 "Santa Barbara" and LCS-34 "Augusta". Contracts were signed for the construction of LSC-36 "Kingsville" and LSC-38 "Pyrrhus".
LCS is a new generation of US Navy surface warships that are capable of performing a wide range of combat missions both on the high seas and in the coastal zone. Among the main functions of the ships: patrolling, combating enemy surface ships and submarines, protecting the fleet from attacks by small surface vessels, ensuring maritime security, mine warfare, conducting reconnaissance, supporting the actions of special operations forces.
The Independence-class ship is an aluminum trimaran with a length of 127.1 m, a width of 31.4 m, a draft of 4.5 m and a displacement of 3104 tons. The ship is equipped with two GE LM2500 GTD, two MTU 20V 8000 diesel engines and can reach a maximum speed of 47 knots (87 km / h), a range of 4,000 nautical miles (8000 km) at a speed of 14 knots. The ship is armed with one 57-mm Mk.110 artillery mount, four 12.7-mm machine guns, and an 11-container ESSM missile launcher. The ship is equipped with a helipad and a hangar to accommodate two MH-60R/S Seahawk helicopters and one MQ-8 Fire Scout UAV.
