LCS 22 completes acceptance trials

MOBILE, Ala. - The future Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship USS Kansas City (LCS 22) successfully concluded acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico after a series of in-port and underway demonstrations, the Navy announced Oct. 31. “This level of performance is among the best I’ve seen for this class. We continue to see improvements in cost, initial quality and schedule, ship after ship,” said Capt. Mike Taylor, LCS program manager. Acceptance trials are the last significant milestone before the ship’s planned delivery to the Navy, in early December. Following delivery and commissioning, Kansas City will be homeported in San Diego with sister Independence-class ships. Four Independence-variant LCS are under construction at Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. Final assembly is well underway on the future USS Oakland (LCS 24). All modules for the future USS Mobile (LCS 26) have been erected, and the modules for the future USS Savannah (LCS 28) are under construction. Additionally, Austal is fabricating modules for the future USS Canberra (LCS 30) and is preparing for construction of the future USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32), USS Augusta (LCS 34), USS Kingsville (LCS 36) and USS Pierre (LCS 38). LCS is now the second-largest surface ship class in production. Five LCS were delivered in 2018. The Navy plans to deliver another three ships this year. (Source: PEO Unmanned and Small Combatants 11/01/19) https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=111329