On July 19, the US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced that the next Independence variant littoral combat ship will be named USS Cincinnati (LCS 20).
Cincinnati will be built by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama. It will be 419 feet long and be capable of operating at speeds in excess of 40 knots.
LCS 20 will be the fifth ship in naval history to be named Cincinnati with the first playing an integral part in the Civil War; the second enforcing neutrality laws during the Cuban Revolution and seeing service during the Spanish-American War; the third acting as a patrol and flagship during World War II; and the fourth, a Los Angeles class submarine, being commissioned in 1978 and serving during the Cold War.
The ship will be built with modular design incorporating mission packages that can be changed out quickly as combat needs change in a region. These mission packages are supported by detachments that deploy both manned and unmanned vehicles, and sensors in support of mine, undersea, and surface warfare missions.
Image: US Navy