USS Kingsville (LCS-36) will be an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy.[3][6] She will be the first ship to be named for Kingsville, Texas, which is home to Naval Air Station Kingsville.[6]
Sister ship USS Independence
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | Kingsville |
Namesake | Kingsville |
Awarded | 14 December 2018[3] |
Builder | Austal USA |
Laid down | 23 February 2022[4] |
Launched | 23 March 2023[1] |
Sponsored by | Katherine L. Kline |
Christened | 22 April 2023[5] |
Acquired | 1 March 2024[2] |
Identification | Hull number: LCS-36 |
Status | Under construction |
Badge | |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Independence-class littoral combat ship |
Displacement | 2,307 metric tons light, 3,104 metric tons full, 797 metric tons deadweight |
Length | 127.4 m (418 ft) |
Beam | 31.6 m (104 ft) |
Draft | 14 ft (4.27 m) |
Propulsion | 2× gas turbines, 2× diesel, 4× waterjets, retractable Azimuth thruster, 4× diesel generators |
Speed | 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph)+, 47 knots (54 mph; 87 km/h) sprint |
Range | 4,300 nautical miles (8,000 km; 4,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)+ |
Capacity | 210 tonnes |
Complement | 40 core crew (8 officers, 32 enlisted) plus up to 35 mission crew |
Sensors and processing systems |
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Electronic warfare & decoys | |
Armament |
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Aircraft carried | 2× MH-60R/S Seahawks |
In 2002, the United States Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.[7] 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.[7] Even-numbered US 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.[7] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Independence-class design.[7] On 29 December 2010, the Navy announced that it was awarding Austal USA a contract to build ten additional Independence-class littoral combat ships.[8][9]
Kingsville was constructed in Mobile, Alabama by Austal USA. The Navy accepted delivery of the vessel on 1 March 2024, with commissioning expected to follow in mid-2024.[2] Homeport will be San Diego, California.