LCS 16 completes acceptance trials

MOBILE, Ala. - Littoral Combat Ship USS Tulsa (LCS 16) successfully completed acceptance trials March 9 after a series of in-port and underway demonstrations in the Gulf of Mexico for the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey. Acceptance trials are the final major milestone before delivery of the ship to the Navy. The ship was built at Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile. Its performance demonstrated an incorporation of lessons learned and continual ship-over-ship improvements, according to Capt. Mike Taylor, LCS program manager. "Tulsa is well on track to provide needed LCS war-fighting capability to the fleet and the nation,” he stated. While underway, Tulsa successfully demonstrated bow thruster, twin boom extensible crane operations with the rigid-hull inflatable boat; completed surface and air self-defense detect-to-engage exercises; and ship-handling and maneuverability through high-speed steering and operation of its anchor. Tulsa will be commissioned into service following delivery, an Austal post-delivery availability, and a post-delivery availability that is focused on crew training, certifications and familiarization exercises in Mobile. The ship is to be home-ported in San Diego with sister Austal-built ships USS Independence (LCS 2), USS Coronado (LCS 4), USS Jackson (LCS 6), USS Montgomery (LCS 8), USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10), USS Omaha (LCS 12), and the future USS Manchester (LCS 14), which was delivered Feb. 28 and will be commissioned May 26 in New Hampshire. Additional LCS are under construction at Austal: Charleston (LCS 18), Cincinnati (LCS 20), Kansas City (LCS 22), Oakland (LCS 24) and Mobile (LCS 26). In addition, contracts for Savannah (LCS 28) and LCS 30 were awarded to Austal in 2017. (Source: Naval Sea Systems Command 03/15/18)