Austal USA Delivers Eighth Independence-Variant Littoral Combat Ship to the U.S. Navy
MOBILE, Ala. – Austal USA delivered its eighth Independence-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) to the U.S. Navy yesterday – the second one delivered this year. The future USS Tulsa (LCS 16) will be the thirteenth LCS to enter the fleet.
“The Austal team is excited to turn over another incredible ship to the Navy that will serve our great Sailors,” said Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle. “The maturity and success of the LCS program is a direct result of the dedication of Austal’s talented employees, the excellent teamwork with our suppliers and the full support of our local, state, and federal legislators.”
Tulsa’s delivery precedes the future USS Manchester (LCS 14) commissioning, which will take place in New Hampshire at the end of May.
“I can’t stress enough how proud I am to be a part of this exciting time in both Austal and the Navy’s history,” continued Perciavalle. “Seeing these awesome ships roll out of our assembly bays one after the other in such quick succession makes me realize how far we’ve come in a very short time.”
Five LCS remain under construction at Austal’s Alabama shipyard. Charleston (LCS 18) is preparing for sea trials. Assembly is underway on Cincinnati (LCS 20) and Kansas City (LCS 22) and modules for Oakland (LCS 24) and Mobile (LCS 26) are under construction. Construction on LCS 28, recently named Savannah, is to begin later this year.
Six Independence-variant LCS are currently homeported in San Diego. Austal is pleased with the feedback we have received from the Navy regarding the work being done by these ships on the West coast.
More than 700 suppliers in 40 states contribute to the Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship program. This supplier base supports tens of thousands of small business to large business jobs.
Austal is also under contract to build 12 Expeditionary Fast Transport vessels (EPF) for the U.S. Navy. The company has delivered nine EPFs while an additional three are in various stages of construction.
