U.S. Navy laid keel of future USS Savannah littoral combat ship (LCS 28).

The U.S. Navy held a keel-laying and authentication ceremony for the future USS Savannah (LCS 28) at Austal USA’s shipyard Mobile, Alabama, on September 20.

USS Savannah littoral combat ship (LCS 28) (Picture source: U.S. Navy)

The ship’s sponsor, Dianne Isakson, wife of U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, authenticated the keel for the 14th Independence-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) during the ceremony.

“We are honoured to lay the keel of what will one day be a magnificent combat ship that will defend our great country as our Sailors operate her around the globe,” said Capt. Mike Taylor, LCS program manager.

While the keel laying traditionally represents the formal start of a ship's construction, fabrication of the ship begins months in advance. Today, keel laying continues to symbolically recognize the joining of the ship's components and the ceremonial beginning of the ship.

LCS is a fast, agile, focused-mission platform designed to operate in near-shore environments, while capable of open-ocean tasking and winning against 21st-century coastal threats such as submarines, mines and swarming small craft. They are capable of supporting forward presence, maritime security, sea control and deterrence.

The LCS is the most advanced high-speed military craft in the world and is intended to operate in coastal areas around the globe. As a key part of the U.S. Navy fleet, they are highly manoeuvrable and configurable to support mine detection/elimination, anti-submarine, and surface ship warfare. The trimaran hull form provides the ship with superior seakeeping, fuel efficiency, survivability and the capacity to carry a large, modular cache of weapons packages.

There are currently four other Independence-variant LCSs undergoing construction at Austal USA, with five additional ships in pre-production planning.