USS Kansas City (LCS-22) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the second ship to be named for Kansas City, the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. The first USS Kansas City was a Wichita-class replenishment ship commissioned in 1970. Throughout its 24-year lifespan, it accrued numerous unit awards from service in Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm before being retired in 1994/ Kansas City was built in Mobile, Alabama by Austal USA. The ship was christened on 22 September 2018 in Mobile, Alabama, and sponsored by Tracy Davidson, wife of Admiral Philip S. Davidson She was launched 19 October 2018 into the Mobile River.
Built by Austal USA, the Independence-class Kansas City is 418 feet long and capable of operating in excess of 40 knots, according to the Navy. It will have a core crew of 40 sailors and carry a pair of MH-60R Seahawk helicopters and an MQ-8 Fire Scout drone. The modular, reconfigurable LCSs are built to provide joint forces the ability to access critical areas through “surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare and mine countermeasures missions in littoral regions. The hull design evolved from a project at Austal to design a 40 knot cruise ship. That hull design evolved into the high-speed trimaran ferry HSC Benchijigua Express and the Independence class was then proposed by General Dynamics and Austal as a contender for Navy plans to build a fleet of small, multipurpose warships to operate in the littoral zone. Starting in 2019, ships of this class will be designated as fast frigates (FF) which will include increased firepower and heavier armor.
