The US Navy Accepts Its Final Littoral Combat Ship
Last week, Austal USA delivered the 19th and final Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) to the United States Navy at a ceremony at the company’s shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. The future USS Pierre (LCS-38), named for the capital of South Dakota, was sponsored by Larissa Thune, daughter of Senator John Thune (R-SD).
It is just the second warship to be named for the upper Midwestern city, with the former being a PC-451-class submarine chaser that was built during the Second World War and which remained in service with the US Navy until 1958, when it was transferred to the Indonesian Navy.
Why Is Austal Stopping Production of the Independence-class?
Delivery of LCS-38 marked the end of the line for Austal, which has been building the small, fast-moving warships for the past 15 years. For the US Navy, it is a different story, as the service has struggled to find a role for ships in a changing geopolitical climate.
“The delivery of the final Independence-variant LCS marks the end of a chapter, but not the story,” said Capt. Matthew Lehmann, program manager of the LCS Program Office.
Lehmann also attempted to accentuate the positives while downplaying the struggles that the sea service has had with the LCS.
“The LCS program, for........
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