USS Charleston on 18 July 2018
History
United States
NameCharleston
NamesakeCharleston
Awarded29 December 2010[1]
BuilderAustal USA[1]
Laid down28 June 2016[1][2]
Launched14 September 2017[1]
Sponsored byBradley Byrne and Charlotte Riley
Christened26 August 2017[3]
Acquired31 August 2018[4]
Commissioned2 March 2019[5]
HomeportSan Diego
Identification
MottoWhile We Breathe, We Fight
StatusActive
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 Charleston (LCS-18) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the sixth ship to be named for Charleston, the oldest and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina.[6]

Design

In 2002, the United States Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.[7] 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.[7] Even-numbered U.S. 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.[7] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Independence-class design.[7] On 29 December 2010, the Navy announced that it was awarding Austal USA a contract to build ten additional Independence-class littoral combat ships.[8][9]

Construction and career

Charleston was built by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama. A ceremonial laying of the keel was held at the Austal USA shipyards in Mobile on 28 June 2016. The ship's sponsor, U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne, welded his initials into the keel of Charleston as part of the ceremony.[2]

Charleston was commissioned on 2 March 2019[5] and she has been assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One[10] at her homeport of San Diego.

On 27 April 2021, an unmanned helicopter, a MQ-8 Fire Scout, took off from the ship at about 3:40 a.m.[11] The aircraft, which is 31.7 feet long and roughly 10 feet tall, then crashed into the side of Charleston and was not recovered after falling into the sea.[11][12] Despite damage to a safety net on the ship and a strike to the hull, Charleston was able to safely operate after the crash.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Charleston (LCS-18)". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Austal USA Hosts Keel Laying Ceremony for LCS 18" (Press release). Austal USA. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  3. ↑ "Austal USA Christens Charleston (LCS 18)" (Press release). Austal USA. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  4. ↑ "Navy Takes Delivery of Future USS Charleston (LCS 18)" (Press release). United States Navy. 4 September 2018. NNS180904-17. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Commissioning Ceremony Breathes Life into USS Charleston" (Press release). United States Navy. 3 March 2019. NNS190303-01. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  6. ↑ "Navy secretary to visit Charleston Friday for USS Charleston ship-naming". The Post and Courier. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "US Navy Fact File: Littoral Combat Ship Class – LCS". US Navy. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ Osborn, Kris (27 June 2014). "Navy Engineers LCS Changes". www.dodbuzz.com. Monster. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "LCS Squadron 1". public.navy.mil. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  11. 1 2 Military Helicopter Crashes Into USS Charleston, Sinks Into Sea. 27 April 2021. NBC San Diego. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  12. ↑ (Vietnamese) Trực thăng không người lái đâm vào chiến hạm Mỹ, làm hư hại thân tàu. 28 April 2021. Nguoi Viet Daily News. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  13. ↑ MQ-8B Fire Scout Crashes Into Littoral Combat Ship USS Charleston On Deployment. 27 April 2021. USNI News. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
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