The US Navy has received its 12th Freedom-class littoral combat ship (LCS) at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin.
The vessel will serve as the navy’s future USS Cooperstown (LCS 23).
Following the delivery, the vessel will sail to New York for its official commissioning ceremony.
It will then travel to its home port of Mayport, Florida, to begin its service.
“Today marks a significant shipbuilding milestone in the life of the future USS Cooperstown, ‘America’s Away Team,’ an exceptional ship and the latest inductee into the Navy’s arsenal conducting operations around the globe,” PMS 501 LCS Program Manager Capt. Andy Gold said.
“I look forward to seeing Cooperstown step up to the plate with her sister ships in Mayport to bring her slugging capabilities to the Fleet.”
USS Cooperstown
USS Cooperstown was designed and constructed by a team led by Lockheed Martin for $279 million.
The US Congress provided $79 million in advance for the ship’s development in March 2015.
USS Cooperstown is the second Freedom-class ship equipped with combining gear correction that “addresses a class-wide flaw identified as the Fleet deployed these ships in greater numbers.”
It will be the first naval vessel named after Cooperstown, New York, the site of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.
Cooperstown Arrival
The USS Cooperstown is the fourth LCS delivered to the US Navy this year after the Freedom-variant USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS 21), Independence-variant USS Canberra (LCS 30), and Independence-variant USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32).
The delivery will be followed by more vessels under construction in the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard.
The future USS Marinette (LCS 25) will be delivered in 2023. USS Nantucket (LCS 27), USS Beloit (LCS 29), and USS Cleveland (LCS 31) are in various stages of development.
