Austal launches future USS Augusta
The future USS Augusta being launched on 23 May. (Photo: Austal USA)
Sea trials of the latest Independence-variant LCS are scheduled for late 2022, even as the USN proposes to confine the vessels to mine countermeasure missions.
The 17th Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) vessel for the USN took to the water on 23 May, after shipbuilder Austal USA conducted a multi-step launch of the future USS Augusta (LCS 34).
Assisted by tugs, the 2,500t ship was escorted from the Austal USA floating dry dock in Mobile, Alabama, and secured pierside on the waterfront for machinery commissioning and system activation.
Sea trials will follow ‘later this year’, Austal USA noted in a statement. Augusta will then join her sister ships in the Pacific.
A total of 19 Independence-variant LCSs are on order from the USN, with five of these at various stages of construction.
However, Under President Joe Biden’s 2023 US DoD budget request, the USN plans to eliminate the LCS anti-submarine warfare mission due to technical challenges and the upcoming entry into service of the Constellation-class frigate.
The Independence-variant vessels will be devoted to mine countermeasure missions instead.
Related Programmes in Defence Insight
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
![Maritime defence in the Mediterranean faces challenges from vulnerable land power]()
Maritime defence in the Mediterranean faces challenges from vulnerable land power
As an indispensable energy crossroads, the Mediterranean is at serious risk from grey zone disruption. As navies increasingly employ AI data centres, what happens when cutting-edge defence technologies rely on the very infrastructure most susceptible to hybrid tactics?
-
![US Navy to conduct an experimentation campaign with emerging tech in 2026 and 2027]()
US Navy to conduct an experimentation campaign with emerging tech in 2026 and 2027
The Technology Operational Experimentation Events will inform future requirements as the US Navy looks for innovative solutions across three key operational domains.
-
![Future Canadian Continental Defence Corvette will provide “Halifax-equivalent capabilities”]()
Future Canadian Continental Defence Corvette will provide “Halifax-equivalent capabilities”
Although the CDC project is still in its early stages, the Canadian Department of National Defence already has some requirements for the future platforms.
