The Navy commissioned its newest littoral combat ship, the USS Charleston (LCS 18) in Charleston, S.C., on Saturday.
The USS Charleston is the 16th littoral combat ship to enter the fleet and the ninth of the Independence variant, according to a Navy news release. The ship will be the sixth named to honor the city and citizens of Charleston.
“The future USS Charleston is proof of what the teamwork of all of our people — civilian, contractor and military — can accomplish together,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer. “This ship will extend the maneuverability and lethality of our fleet to confront the many challenges of a complex world, from maintaining the sea lanes to countering instability to maintaining our edge against renewed great-power competition.”
According to a Navy fact sheet, the 3,200-ton Charleston, built by General Dynamics/Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., is 421 feet long, has a beam of 103 feet and has a navigational draft of 15 feet. The ship is powered by two gas turbine engines, two main propulsion diesel engines, and four waterjets to speeds up to 40-plus knots.
Fast, agile, and designed for operation in near-shore environments yet capable of open-ocean operation, the Charleston is designed to defeat threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft.
The crew of the Navy’s newest littoral combat ship, USS Charleston (LCS 18), brings the ship to life during its commissioning ceremony. LCS 18 is the sixteenth littoral combat ship to enter the fleet and the ninth of the Independence variant. It is the sixth ship named for Charleston, the oldest and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Natalia Murillo/U.S. Navy)
The ship will be homeported in San Diego, Calif.
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