On June 13 Austal held a christening ceremony for the future USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) in Mobile, Alabama.
This is the third littoral combat ship (LCS) in Austal’s 10-ship, $3.5 billion block-buy contract.
The Independence-variant littoral combat ship is a 127-meter (419-foot) aluminum trimaran, capable of being outfitted with reconfigurable payloads (mission packages) which can be changed to support mine countermeasure, anti-submarine and surface warfare missions. It is named Gabrielle Giffords after the former Congresswoman from Tuscon, Arizona. This is only the sixteenth U.S. naval ship to be named for a woman.
The vessel has a maximum speed of more than 40 knots. The Independence-variant combines superior seakeeping, endurance, and speed with the volume and payload capacity needed to support emerging missions – today and in the future. The ship was launched in February and is making preparations for trials and delivery in 2016.
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Image: US Navy