TSAMTO, July 1. On June 28, the company Austal Limited announced the transfer of a new coastal zone combat ship of the Independence class, LCS-28 "Savannah", by its unit Austal USA to the command of the US Navy, which took place at the enterprise in Mobile (Alabama).
LCS-28 "Savannah "is the 14th LCS-class" Independence " ship, which was built by Austal USA for the US Navy. Cutting of the first steel sheets for LCS-28 began at the Austal USA enterprise in the summer of 2018. The keel laying and authentication ceremony took place on September 20, 2019, and the epiphany – on June 5, 2021.
According to the company, due to increased production efficiency, Austal USA completed the construction of the ship in less than three years – 12 months faster than the previous ships of the series.
As previously reported by TSAMTO, the construction of 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 adopted by the US Navy on January 16, 2010.
Earlier, Austal USA transferred 13 ships of the coastal zone to the US Navy. The last one in December 2020 was delivered LCS-26 "Mobile", which entered the fleet on May 22, 2021.
Now at the Austal USA enterprise in Mobile, several more ships of the series are in various stages of construction: LCS-30 "Canberra", LCS-32 "Santa Barbara", LCS-34 "Augusta", LCS-36 "Kingsville". A contract has been signed for the LSC-38 "Pyrrhus", the construction of which will begin in the near future.
LCS is a new generation of surface combat ships of the US Navy, which are capable of performing a wide range of combat tasks both on the high seas and in the coastal zone. Among the main functions of the ships are: patrolling, combating enemy surface ships and submarines, protecting the fleet from attacks by small surface vessels, mine warfare, conducting reconnaissance, supporting the actions of special operations forces.
