In a time-honored Navy tradition, the Honorable Leigh I. Saufley, sponsor of the Navy’s newest Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) the future USS Augusta (LCS-34), christened the ship during a 10:00 a.m. CDT ceremony on Saturday, December 17, in Mobile, Alabama.
Saufley, president and dean of the University of Maine School of Law and the former chief justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, broke a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow to symbolically christen the ship at the Austal USA shipyard. Augusta’s commanding officer, Commander Christopher Polnaszek, represented the ship’s crew in the ceremony.
The principal speaker was the Honorable Jerry Carl, U.S. House of Representatives (R-AL). Remarks were also been provided by the Honorable Mark O’Brien, mayor of Augusta; Vice Admiral John Mustin, chief of Navy reserve; Ms. E. Anne Sandel, acting principal civilian deputy to the assistant secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition; Mr. Rusty Murdaugh, president, Austal USA; and Mr. Stan Kordana, vice president of Surface Systems, General Dynamics Mission Systems.
«The future USS Augusta (LCS-34) will honor the beautiful, capital city of the pine tree state», said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro. «The Honorable Saufley and the ship’s crew will forge a special connection with the fine people of Augusta. This future ship’s Sailors will stand the watch with pride and represent Augusta with the honor, courage, and commitment they deserve».
Augusta’s motto, «Protecting the frontier», continues the legacy of the first USS Augusta (SSN-710), a Los Angeles-class submarine that was in active service for 24 years and decommissioned on February 11, 2009. Augusta is the 17th Independence-variant LCS and 33rd in the LCS class. It is the second ship named in honor of the city of Augusta, Maine.
Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ships are fast, optimally-manned, mission-tailored surface combatants that operate in near-shore and open-ocean environments, winning against 21st-century coastal threats. LCS integrate with joint, combined, manned, and unmanned teams to support forward-presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence missions around the globe. Currently, Independence-variants USS Charleston (LCS-18) and USS Oakland (LCS-24) are on deployment in the Indo-Pacific.
The LCS class consists of two variants, Freedom and Independence, designed and built by two separate industry teams. Austal USA, which leads the Independence-variant industry team for even-numbered hulls, is a ship manufacturer headquartered in Mobile, Alabama, with service centers in San Diego and Singapore, and a technology center in Charlottesville, Virginia. Austal USA has earned 21 safety excellence awards.
The Independence Variant of the LCS
| PRINCIPAL DIMENSIONS | |
| Construction | Hull and superstructure – aluminium alloy |
| Length overall | 421 feet/128.3 m |
| Beam overall | 103 feet/31.4 m |
| Hull draft (maximum) | 14.8 feet/4.5 m |
| PAYLOAD AND CAPACITIES | |
| Complement | Core Crew – 40 |
| Mission crew – 36 | |
| Berthing | 76 in a mix of single, double & quad berthing compartments |
| Maximum mission load | 210 tonnes |
| Mission Bay Volume | 118,403 feet3/11,000 m3 |
| Mission packages | Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) |
| Surface Warfare (SUW) | |
| Mine Warfare (MIW) | |
| PROPULSION | |
| Main engines | 2 × GE LM2500 |
| 2 × MTU 20V 8000 | |
| Waterjets | 4 × Wartsila steerable |
| Bow thruster | Retractable azimuthing |
| PERFORMANCE | |
| Speed | 40 knots/46 mph/74 km/h |
| Range | 3,500 NM/4,028 miles/6,482 km |
| Operational limitation | Survival in Sea State 8 |
| MISSION/LOGISTICS DECK | |
| Deck area | >21,527.8 feet2/2,000 m2 |
| Launch and recovery | Twin boom extending crane |
| Loading | Side ramp |
| Internal elevator to hanger | |
| Launch/Recover Watercraft | Sea State 4 |
| FLIGHT DECK AND HANGER | |
| Flight deck dimensions | 2 × SH-60 or 1 × CH-53 or multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Vertical Take-off and Land Tactical Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs/VTUAVs) |
| Hanger | Aircraft stowage & maintenance for 2 × SH-60 |
| Launch/Recover Aircraft | Sea State 5 |
| WEAPONS AND SENSORS | |
| Standard | 1 × 57-mm gun |
| 4 × 12.7-mm/.50 caliber guns | |
| 1 × Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) launcher | |
| 3 × weapons modules | |
Independence-class
| Ship | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Homeport |
| USS Independence (LCS-2) | 01-19-2006 | 04-26-2008 | 01-16-2010 | San Diego, California |
| USS Coronado (LCS-4) | 12-17-2009 | 01-14-2012 | 04-05-2014 | San Diego, California |
| USS Jackson (LCS-6) | 08-01-2011 | 12-14-2013 | 12-05-2015 | San Diego, California |
| USS Montgomery (LCS-8) | 06-25-2013 | 08-06-2014 | 09-10-2016 | San Diego, California |
| USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10) | 04-16-2014 | 02-25-2015 | 06-10-2017 | San Diego, California |
| USS Omaha (LCS-12) | 02-18-2015 | 11-20-2015 | 02-03-2018 | San Diego, California |
| USS Manchester (LCS-14) | 06-29-2015 | 05-12-2016 | 05-26-2018 | San Diego, California |
| USS Tulsa (LCS-16) | 01-11-2016 | 03-16-2017 | 02-16-2019 | San Diego, California |
| USS Charleston (LCS-18) | 06-28-2016 | 09-14-2017 | 03-02-2019 | San Diego, California |
| USS Cincinnati (LCS-20) | 04-10-2017 | 05-22-2018 | 10-05-2019 | San Diego, California |
| USS Kansas City (LCS-22) | 11-15-2017 | 10-19-2018 | 06-20-2020 | San Diego, California |
| USS Oakland (LCS-24) | 07-20-2018 | 07-21-2019 | 04-17-2021 | San Diego, California |
| USS Mobile (LCS-26) | 12-14-2018 | 01-11-2020 | 05-22-2021 | San Diego, California |
| USS Savannah (LCS-28) | 09-20-2018 | 09-08-2020 | 02-05-2022 | San Diego, California |
| USS Canberra (LCS-30) | 03-10-2020 | 03-30-2021 | ||
| USS Santa Barbara (LCS-32) | 10-27-2020 | 11-12-2021 | ||
| USS Augusta (LCS-34) | 07-30-2021 | 05-23-2022 | ||
| USS Kingsville (LCS-36) | 02-23-2022 | |||
| USS Pierre (LCS-38) |