USS Mobile (LCS-26) will be an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She will be the fifth ship to be named Mobile.
The keel of the vessel was laid on Dec. 14, 2018, and she was christened on Dec. 7, 2019. Austal has launched the U.S. Navy’s 13th Independence-variant littoral combat ship, the future USS Mobile (LCS 26), at its facility in Mobile, Alabama on Jan. 11. 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 (for LCS 6 and the subsequent even-numbered hulls).
The Independence-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) is the most recent step in the small surface combatant evolution. A high-speed, agile, shallow draft, focused-mission surface combatant, the LCS is designed to conduct surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and mine countermeasures missions in the littoral near-shore region, while also possessing the capability for deep-water operations. With its open-architecture design, the LCS can support modular weapons, sensor systems and a variety of manned and unmanned vehicles to capture and sustain littoral maritime supremacy.
In addition to being in full-rate production for the LCS program, Austal USA is also the Navy’s prime contractor for the Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) program. Austal has delivered 10 EPF, with a total of 14 under contract. Austal USA is also leading the evolution of connector and auxiliary ships as Austal EPF designs for dedicated medical, maintenance, logistics, and command and control ships continue to impress fleet commanders.
