Austal rolls out and launches nation’s twelfth Littoral Combat Ship

MOBILE, Ala. – Austal rolled out and launched the nation’s twelfth Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the future USS Omaha (LCS 12), at its state-of-the-art ship manufacturing facility in Mobile, Alabama, late last week. This marks the third ship Austal has rolled out and launched this year.

“It’s exciting to successfully launch another LCS, we are pleased at how well the program is maturing,” said Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle. “Incredible teamwork makes it all happen and the team here is second to none.”

Omaha will continue outfitting and testing before sea trials and delivery to the Navy. Omaha, a 419-foot Independence-variant LCS, is the fourth vessel Austal has launched as part of a $3.5 billion 10-ship block buy contract.

This Austal built and designed Independence-variant LCS combines superior seakeeping, endurance, and speed with the volume and payload capacity needed to support emerging missions enabling rapid response to ever-evolving missions, technologies and future threats.

Six Littoral Combat Ships, along with four Expeditionary Fast Transports (EPF) – formerly named Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSV) – are currently under construction in Austal’s Alabama facility. Austal has delivered three LCS and five EPF to the Navy to date. The Navy took delivery of the future USS Jackson (LCS 6) in late July and she will sail away from Mobile on her way to the Port of Gulfport, Mississippi to be commissioned. The future USS Montgomery (LCS 8) is preparing for acceptance trials in early 2016.