Jane Edwards
The tenth littoral combat ship that Austal built for the U.S. Navy has completed acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico.
Austal said Thursday the service branch concluded on Nov. 18 the acceptance trials on the USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) vessel that include tests on the ship’s systems and related equipment.
The completion of the trials marks the last milestone prior to the ship’s delivery to the Navy.
Austal uses its Mobile, Alabama-based shipyard to build eight LCS for the military branch under a contract for 11 vessels worth approximately $3.5 billion.
The company has begun final assembly work on Charleston (LCS 18) and plans to christen and unveil Tulsa (LCS 16) in early 2017.
Austal will subject Omaha (LCS 12) and Manchester (LCS 14) to trials and has started module development work on Cincinnati (LCS 20) and Kansas City (LCS 22).
