TSAMTO, October 19. The Command of the US Navy announced the christening ceremony of the LCS-32 Santa Barbara coastal warship of the Independence class, which took place on October 16 at the Austal USA company in Mobile (Alabama).
LCS-30 – 16- The Independence-class LCS ship, which was built by Austal USA. The metal cutting ceremony for the construction of the ship began at the enterprise in Mobile on October 9, 2019, the keel laying took place on October 27, 2020.
As 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.
In general, Austal USA has transferred 14 ships of the coastal zone to the US Navy. The last one in June 2021 was delivered LCS-28 "Savannah". Now at the Austal USA enterprise in Mobile, several more ships of the series are in various stages of construction: LCS-30 "Canberra", LCS-34 "Augusta", LCS-36 "Kingsville". A contract has been signed for the construction of the LSC-38 "Pyrrhus" (its construction will begin in the near future). On July 29, 2021, a ceremony was held at the Naval base of the US Navy San Diego for the decommissioning of the American fleet of the lead ship of the series - LCS-2 "Independence".
LCS is a new generation of surface warships of the US Navy, which 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 are: patrolling, combating enemy surface ships and submarines, protecting the fleet from attacks by small surface vessels, mine warfare, reconnaissance, support for the actions of special operations forces.
