US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus yesterday announced that the next Freedom-variant littoral combat ship will be named USS Minneapolis/St. Paul (LCS 21).
The future Minneapolis/St. Paul was named to honor the citizens of Minnesota’s Twin Cities who have a long and proud history of naval service. It will be the second ship to bear the name. The first, a submarine, was commissioned in 1984.
A fast, agile surface combatant, the LCS provides the required warfighting capabilities and operational flexibility to execute a variety of missions in areas such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare.
Minneapolis/St. Paul 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.
The ship will be 388 feet long and capable of traveling at speeds in excess of 40 knots. The construction will be led by a Lockheed Martin industry team in Marinette, Wisconsin.
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Image: US Navy