June 29 will be an exciting day for Alabama that will host the christening ceremony of the newest littoral combat ship (LCS), USS Oakland (LCS 24).
“The christening of the future USS Oakland marks an important step toward this great ship’s entry into the fleet,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “The dedication and skilled work of our industry partners ensure this ship will represent the great city of Oakland and serve our Navy and Marine Corps team for decades to come.”
The keel laying ceremony of LCS 24 was held at 20th July 2018.
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” in Marinette, Wisconsin (for the odd-numbered hulls). The Independence variant team is led by “Austal USA” in Mobile, Alabama (for LCS 6 and subsequent even-numbered hulls).
The future USS Oakland is a fast, agile, focused-mission platform designed for operation in near-shore environments yet capable of open-ocean operation. It is designed to defeat asymmetric “anti-access” threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft. The ship will be homeported in San Diego.
The ship will be embarked in San Diego as homeport.