“We’re so excited to deliver another LCS to the fleet,” Austal USA president Craig Perciavalle said in a prepared statement. “The efficiency at which we’re delivering these ships is world class, and a testament to the incredible skill and hard work of the best shipbuilding professionals in the country.”
The eighth Independence-variant LCS, Tulsa (LCS 16), recently completed acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Tulsa has a draft of 14’, a marine crew of 40, a total crew of 110 and displaces 2,675 metric tons. Main propulsion comes from twin GE LM2500 gas turbine engines, producing 29,500 hp, and two MTU 20V8000 diesel engines, putting out 12,200 hp total.
The five remaining LCS’s under construction at Austal’s Alabama shipyard include Charleston (LCS 18), Cincinnati (LCS 20), Kansas City (LCS 22), Oakland (LCS 24) and the future USS Mobile (LCS 26). For more please visit the US Navy’s LSC website.