Article Posted on : - Aug 12, 2015

New littotal combat ship LCS 6. An Austal USA photo

MOBILE, ALABAMA (BNS): The US Navy has taken delivery of the fifth littoral combat ship (LCS) from shipbuilder Austal USA.

The warship, to be christened USS Jackson, was handed over to the Navy during a ceremony at Austal's Mobile, Alabama facility on August 11.

Jackson is the fifth littoral combat ship (LCS) to be delivered to the Navy, the third of the Independence variant to join the fleet, the Navy said in a statement.

"We are pleased to receive the future USS Jackson into the LCS class," Capt. Warren R. Buller II, commander, Littoral Combat Ship Squadron 1, said.

"Jackson will operate out of Mayport, Florida, while conducting full ship shock trials, prior to joining her sister littoral combat ships in their homeport of San Diego in late 2016," the official added.

The new LCS is scheduled to be commissioned into service in December 2015 at Gulfport, Mississippi.

Following commissioning and shock trials, Jackson will be homeported in San Diego with her sister ships USS Freedom (LCS 1), USS Independence (LCS 2), USS Fort Worth (LCS 3), and USS Coronado (LCS 4), the Navy statement added.

The LCS, being developed in two variants, has been envisioned as a versatile, networked, agile, surface combatant vessel capable of defeating anti-access and asymmetric threats in the littorals.

While Austal USA is building the Independence-class aluminium trimaran LCSs, Lockheed Martin is developing the Freedom-class semiplaning monohull ships.

The Navy had earlier intended to procure a total of 52 such ships, but budgetary curtailment has set the limit for procuring 32 LCSs.

Pentagon and the Navy are now evaluating the option to procure 20 "frigates" based upon a modified version of the LCS.