The US Navy will be christening its future Freedom-variant littoral combat ship Little Rock (LCS 9) in a ceremony at Canalside, Buffalo, on December 16.
The announcement was made by the Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer on October 18.
The future LCS 9, commanded by Cmdr. Todd Peters, is the tenth littoral combat ship to enter the fleet and the fifth of the Freedom variant design.
It is the second warship named for the Arkansas state capital and will be commissioned alongside its namesake ship, which serves as a museum at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park.
In the summer of 2013, the keel of Little Rock was laid down. The ship was christened and launched on July 18, 2015 during a ceremony at Marinette Marine Corporation’s shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin.
After commissioning in Buffalo, she will make her way to homeport in Mayport, Florida.
The LCS class consists of two variants, the Freedom variant and the Independence variant, designed and built by two industry teams. The Freedom variant team is led by Lockheed Martin (for the odd-numbered hulls, e.g. LCS 1). The Independence variant team is led by Austal USA (for LCS 6 and the subsequent even-numbered hulls).