USS Augusta being launched at Austal Shipyards.
History
United States
NameAugusta
NamesakeAugusta
Awarded18 September 2018[3]
BuilderAustal USA
Laid down30 July 2021[2]
Launched23 May 2022
Sponsored byLeigh Ingalls Saufley
Christened17 December 2022[5]
Acquired12 May 2023[1]
Commissioned30 September 2023[2]
HomeportNaval Base San Diego
IdentificationHull number: LCS-34
MottoProtecting the Frontier[4]
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.[3][6] She is the second ship to be named for Augusta, Maine.[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 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.[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

Augusta was built in Mobile, Alabama by Austal USA.[10] Austal USA delivered the ship to the Navy, in Mobile on 12 May 2023.[1] She joined the active fleet with a commissioning ceremony in Eastport, Maine on 30 September 2023.[11] Augusta arrived at her homeport of San Diego on 30 October 2023.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "Austal USA delivers the future USS Augusta (LCS 34) to the U.S. Navy". Austal USA. 12 May 2023. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b "USS Augusta (LCS 34) Littoral Combat Ship". USS Augusta Commissioning. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Augusta (LCS-34)". Naval Vessel Register. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  4. ^ "USS Augusta (LCS 34)". The Institute of Heraldry. U.S. Army. 15 December 2022. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Austal USA celebrates christening of the future USS Augusta (LCS 34)". Austal USA. 17 December 2022. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Secretary of the Navy Names Independence Variant Littoral Combat Ship After Capital of Maine". United States Navy. 31 January 2019. NNS190131-10. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d "US Navy Fact File: Littoral Combat Ship Class – LCS". U.S. Navy. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  8. ^ Lundquist, Edward H. (11 January 2011). "Explaining the LCS Multi-ship Buy". Defense Media Network. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  9. ^ Osborn, Kris (27 June 2014). "Navy Engineers LCS Changes". military.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  10. ^ "Austal USA Delivers the Future USS Mobile (LCS 26) to the U.S. Navy". Austal USA. 9 December 2020. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  11. ^ "USS Augusta (LCS34) Commissioning". Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. 30 September 2023. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024.
  12. ^ Hand, Vance (30 October 2023). "USS Augusta (LCS 34) Arrives at Homeport in San Diego". Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. Archived from the original on 11 November 2023.
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