The following is text of a news release from Austal USA:
(MOBILE, Ala.) — Austal on Saturday christened the Independence-class littoral combat ship 20 (LCS 20), the future USS Cincinnati. The ceremony was held in Austal’s Mobile ship manufacturing facility. USS Cincinnati will be the 10th of 15 Independence-variant LCS that Austal USA has under contract with the U.S. Navy at a combined value of over $4.5 billion.
The Independence-variant LCS 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.
In 2018 Austal has delivered two LCS to the Navy, with another five under construction. LCS 18 is preparing for sea trials as LCS 20, 22, 24 and LCS 26 are following close behind. Additionally, Austal has two more LCS in a pre-construction phase, LCS 28 and LCS 30 (USS Canberra).
In addition to being in full rate production for the LCS program, Austal is also the Navy’s prime contractor for the expeditionary fast transport (EPF) program. Austal has delivered nine EPF vessels, while an additional three are in various stages of construction.
