U.S Navy’s New Independent-variant Littoral Combat Ship USS Kingsville Delivered

The future USS Kingsville, the 18th Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), was delivered to the U.S Navy at Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, on March 1, 2024.

It is the first naval vessel named after Kingsville, Texas.

The LCS Class consists of advanced vessels which are fast, sufficiently manned, and tailored for specific missions both near-shore and in open waters to face the coastal threats of this century.

The USS Kingsville completed its acceptance trials on February 1 and would be commissioned into the Navy in the summer. Per sources, the new ship’s homeport would be San Diego, California.

Jonas Brown, deputy program manager of the LCS program office who was on the vessel throughout its trials, appreciated its performance, saying it set a standard of excellence in the class. He assured everyone about its quality and its durability as well.

Now, just one vessel of the Independence-variant LCS is still being built at Austal USA, and the production for these vessels is approaching its planned completion.

The LCS Class has two variants: Freedom and Independence. They are designed and constructed by different industry teams.

The trimaran-hulled Independence variant team of experts is led by Austal USA (for even numbered vessels). The monohull Freedom variant team is led by Lockheed Martin (for the odd-numbered vessels).

Reference: Naval News

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