Austal USA delivered the future Littoral Combat Ship USS Tulsa (LCS-16) to the U.S. Navy during a ceremony at the company’s shipyard in Mobile, Ala., on Monday.
Austal USA builds the even-numbered Independence-variant LCSs, which feature a trimaran hull. LCS-16 is the 13th LCS delivered to the Navy and the eighth Independence-variant. The delivery of Tulsa is the last milestone before the ship is commissioned, which is set for late 2018 in San Francisco.
“Today marks a significant milestone in the life of the future USS Tulsa, as transfer occurs to the Navy and she enters service. I look forward to celebrating the commissioning of this fine ship alongside the crew later this year in San Francisco,” Capt. Mike Taylor, LCS program manager, said in a statement.
“Although there is still plenty of hard work ahead, we are at the point where Tulsa is ready for her crew, and I can say without hesitation that her crew is ready for Tulsa,” Cmdr. Drew Borovies, Tulsa‘s commanding officer, added.
LCS-16 finished its acceptance trials in early March (Defense Daily, March 16).
After the ship is commissioned, LCS-16 will be homeported in San Diego along with the other LCSs.