In 2002, the United States Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.^[8] The Navy initially ordered two trimaran hulled ships from General Dynamics, which became known as the Independence-class littoral combat ship after the first ship of the class, USS Independence.^[8] Even-numbered U.S. Navy littoral combat ships are built using the Independence-class trimaran design, while odd-numbered ships are based on a competing design, the conventional monohull Freedom-class littoral combat ship.^[8] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Independence-class design.^[8] On 29 December 2010, the Navy announced that it was awarding Austal USA a contract to build ten additional Independence-class littoral combat ships.^[9][10]

Kansas City was built in Mobile, Alabama by Austal USA. The ship was christened on 22 September 2018 in Mobile, Alabama,^[6] and sponsored by Tracy Davidson, wife of Admiral Philip S. Davidson.^[5] She was launched 19 October 2018 into the Mobile River.^[1]

Kansas City was commissioned on 20 June 2020^[3] and she has been assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One.^[11]

• This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.