US Navy commissions USS Oakland LCS 24 Independance-class LCS Littoral Combat Ship.

The U.S. Navy has commissioned the USS Oakland LCS 24 Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship on Saturday, April 17, 2021. The ship was built by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama. The keel laying ceremony was held in July 2018 and launched in July 2019. She was delivered to the United States Navy on 26 June 2020.
Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link

USS Oakland LCS 24 Independance-class Littoral Combat Ship during trial tests. (Picture source U.S. Navy)

The Independance-class is one of the two classes of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program, built for the United States Navy.

The USS Oakland has a length of 127.4 m, a beam of 31.6 m, a draft of 4.27 m, and a displacement of 3,104 tons. The ship is powered by two Rolls-Royce gas turbines, two diesel engines, and four waterjets. She can reach a top speed of 47 knots (87 km/h) with a maximum cruising range of 4,300 nautical miles (8,000 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h).

The USS Oakland successfully concluded acceptance trials in May 2020 following a series of in-port and underway demonstrations in the Gulf of Mexico. During trials, the final milestone prior to the ship’s delivery, the Navy conducts comprehensive tests of systems, including those essential to a ship’s performance at sea such as the main propulsion, auxiliaries, and electrical systems.

The USS Oakland is armed with one BAE Systems Mk 110 57 mm naval gun, four .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns (2 aft, 11 cell missile launcher Evolved SeaRAM surface-to-air missiles. She has a flight deck and hangar to accommodate two MH-60R/S Seahawk naval helicopters and one MQ-8 Fire Scout.

Four additional Independence-variant ships are under construction at Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama. The future USS Mobile (LCS 26) is undergoing final assembly. The modules for the future USS Savannah (LCS 28) and future USS Canberra (LCS 30) also are being erected, and modules for the future USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32) are being fabricated. Additionally, Austal USA is preparing for the construction of the future USS Augusta (LCS 34), USS Kingsville (LCS 36), and USS Pierre (LCS 38).