Photo: US Navy commissions USS Omaha

The US Navy commissioned its newest littoral combat ship USS Omaha (LCS 12) during a commissioning ceremony at San Diego’s downtown Broadway Pier, February 3.

The new Independence variant littoral combat ship is the navy’s fourth vessel named in honor of the city of Omaha.

“It is a great honor and privilege to be her commanding officer and to take such a beautiful ship to sea,” said Cmdr. Michael Toth, commanding officer, USS Omaha (LCS 12). “No captain has ever had a harder working, more motivated crew, and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

Omaha, the 11th littoral combat ship and sixth Independence variant, is now homeported in San Diego with fellow littoral combat ships; USS Freedom (LCS 1), USS Independence (LCS 2), USS Fort Worth (LCS 3), USS Coronado (LCS 4), USS Jackson (LCS 6), USS Montgomery (LCS 8), and USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10). Three additional LCS are homeported in Mayport, Florida.

The LCS-class consists of the Freedom-variant and Independence-variant, designed and built by two industry teams. The Freedom-variant team is led by Lockheed Martin (for the odd-numbered ships, e.g. LCS 1). The Independence-variant team is led by Austal USA (for LCS 6 and follow-on even-numbered ships). Twenty-nine LCS ships have been awarded to date: 11 have been delivered to the Navy, 15 are in various stages of construction and three are in pre-production states.