US Navy to commission LCS 18
The US Navy is set to commission its eighth Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the future USS Charleston (LCS 18), at Columbus Street Terminal in Charleston, South Carolina, on 2 March.
The ship will be homeported in San Diego, California.
The future USS Charleston has been designed to support operations in near-shore environments as well as in the open ocean. The vessel is capable of countering asymmetric anti-access threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft.
The LCS class consists of two variants, the Freedom variant and the Independence variant, designed and built by two industry teams. The Independence variant team is led by Austal USA, Mobile, Alabama.
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