USS Augusta being launched at Austal Shipyards.
History
United States
NameAugusta
NamesakeAugusta
Awarded18 September 2018[1]
BuilderAustal USA
Laid down30 July 2021[2]
Launched23 May 2022
Sponsored byLeigh Ingalls Saufley
Christened17 December 2022[3]
Acquired12 May 2023[4]
Commissioned30 September 2023[5]
HomeportNaval Base San Diego
IdentificationHull number: LCS-34
MottoProtecting the Frontier[6]
StatusIn active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeIndependence-class littoral combat ship
Displacement2,307 metric tons light, 3,104 metric tons full, 797 metric tons deadweight
Length127.4 m (418 ft)
Beam31.6 m (104 ft)
Draft14 ft (4.27 m)
Propulsion2× gas turbines, 2× diesel, 4× waterjets, retractable Azimuth thruster, 4× diesel generators
Speed40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph)+, 47 knots (54 mph; 87 km/h) sprint
Range4,300 nautical miles (8,000 km; 4,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)+
Capacity210 tonnes
Complement40 core crew (8 officers, 32 enlisted) plus up to 35 mission crew
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Sea Giraffe 3D Surface/Air RADAR
  • Bridgemaster-E Navigational RADAR
  • AN/KAX-2 EO/IR sensor for GFC
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • EDO ES-3601 ESM
  • 4× SRBOC rapid bloom chaff launchers
Armament
Aircraft carried2× MH-60R/S Seahawks

USS Augusta (LCS-34) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy.[1][7] She is the second ship to be named for Augusta, Maine.[7]

Design

In 2002, the United States Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.[8] The Navy initially ordered two trimaran hulled ships from General Dynamics, which became known as the Independence-class littoral combat ship after the first ship of the class, USS Independence.[8] Even-numbered US Navy littoral combat ships are built using the Independence-class trimaran design, while odd-numbered ships are based on a competing design, the conventional monohull Freedom-class littoral combat ship.[8] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Independence-class design.[8] On 29 December 2010, the Navy announced that it was awarding Austal USA a contract to build ten additional Independence-class littoral combat ships.[9][10]

Construction and career

Augusta was built in Mobile, Alabama by Austal USA.[11] Austal USA delivered the ship to the Navy, in Mobile on 12 May 2023.[4] She joined the active fleet with a commissioning ceremony in Eastport, Maine on 30 September 2023.[12] Augusta arrived at her homeport of San Diego on 30 October 2023.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 "Augusta (LCS-34)". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  2. ↑ "Navy decommissioning first LCS built in Mobile". 31 July 2021.
  3. ↑ "Austal USA celebrates christening of the future USS Augusta (LCS 34)" (Press release). Austal USA. 17 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Austal USA delivers the future USS Augusta (LCS 34) to the U.S. Navy" (Press release). Austal USA. 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "USS Augusta Commissioning" (Press release). USS Augusta Commissioning Committee. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  6. ↑ "USS Augusta (LCS 34)". The Institute of Heraldry. U.S. Army. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Secretary of the Navy Names Independence Variant Littoral Combat Ship After Capital of Maine" (Press release). United States Navy. 31 January 2019. NNS190131-10. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "US Navy Fact File: Littoral Combat Ship Class – LCS". US Navy. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Special from Navy Office of Information (29 December 2010). "Littoral Combat Ship Contract Award Announced" (Press release). Navy News Service. NNS101229-09. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  10. ↑ Osborn, Kris (27 June 2014). "Navy Engineers LCS Changes". www.dodbuzz.com. Monster. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  11. ↑ "Austal USA Delivers the Future USS Mobile (LCS 26) to the U.S. Navy" (Press release). Austal USA. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  12. ↑ https://www.dvidshub.net/webcast/32605/
  13. ↑ https://www.dvidshub.net/news/456825/uss-augusta-lcs-34-arrives-homeport-san-diego
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