Navy to christen latest LCS at Austal USA

Photo of the USS Omaha (LCS 12), delivered to the Navy, showing the Independence variant's distinctive trimaran hull

MAY 5, 2018 — The U.S. Navy will christen its newest Independence-variant littoral combat ship (LCS), the future USS Cincinnati (LCS 20), today at a ceremony at Austal USA, in Mobile, AL.

Among the dignitaries in attendance will be Cincinnati Councilmember David Mann, also a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio.  Former Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker will serve christen the ship.

The 387.7 ft x 57.7 ft aluminum, trimaran-hulled Cincinnati (LCS 20) is the 10th of 15 LCS vessels Austal USA has under contract with the U.S. Navy. The total order value of the program is over $4.5 billion.

“The future USS Cincinnati is a symbol of the strong connection between the people of Cincinnati and the Navy and Marine Corps team,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “The ship serves as a testament to our commitment to growing the Fleet and our partnership with industry and the American public.”

The future USS Cincinnati is the fifth U.S. Navy ship to honor Ohio’s third largest city. The first was a stern-wheel casemate gunboat that served during the Civil War and was sunk by Confederate fire on two separate occasions. Raised both times and returned to service, she was decommissioned following the war. The second Cincinnati was a cruiser commissioned in 1894. She served extensively in the Caribbean before, during, and after the Spanish-American War before being decommissioned in 1919. The third ship to bear the name was a light cruiser commissioned in 1924 that served around the world and earned a battle star for World War II service that included convoy escort and blockade duty. She was decommissioned in 1945 after the war ended. The fourth Cincinnati was a Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine commissioned in 1978. The boat served for 17 years before being decommissioned in 1995.

LCS is a modular, reconfigurable ship, designed to meet validated fleet requirements for surface warfare (SUW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and mine countermeasures (MCM) missions in the littoral region. An interchangeable mission package is embarked on each LCS and provides the primary mission systems in one of these warfare areas. Using an open architecture design, modular weapons, sensor systems and a variety of manned and unmanned vehicles to gain, sustain and exploit littoral maritime supremacy, LCS provides U.S. joint force access to critical areas in multiple theaters.

The LCS class consists of two variants, the steel-hulled Freedom variant team, led by Lockheed Martin (for the odd-numbered hulls) and built by Fincantieri Marine, and The aluminum-hulled Independence variant team led by Austal USA (for LCS 6 and the subsequent even-numbered hulls).

The Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship is a high-speed, agile, shallow draft, focused-mission surface combatant designed to conduct Surface Warfare, Anti-Submarine Warfare, and Mine Countermeasures missions in the littoral region. With its open architecture design, the LCS can support modular weapons, sensor systems and a variety of manned and unmanned vehicles to capture and sustain littoral maritime supremacy. 

Five Independence-variant LCS are currently under construction at Austal’s shipyard, which is the largest aluminum vessel construction facility.