Article Posted on : - Oct 01, 2013

The future USS Coronado (LCS 4) conducts at-sea acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico. A US Navy photo

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

The warship -- the second of the Independent class LCSs being built by Austal -- was handed over to the Navy during a ceremony at the shipyard's Mobile facility in Alabama on Sept 27.

The 127-metre high-speed trimaran combatant ship will be commissioned into service as USS Coronado in April 2014.

It will operate to defeat littoral threats and provide access and dominance in coastal waters for missions such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare.

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

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

Following its commissioning, Coronado will be homeported in San Diego with her sister ships USS Freedom (LCS 1), USS Independence (LCS 2) and USS Fort Worth (LCS 3).

The US Navy is committed to procure a total of 52 Littoral Combat Ships for multi-mission support.