USS Augusta (LCS-34)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Augusta.

USS Augusta being launched at Austal Shipyards.
History
United States
Name	Augusta
Namesake	Augusta
Awarded	18 September 2018[1]
Builder	Austal USA
Laid down	30 July 2021[2]
Launched	23 May 2022
Sponsored by	Leigh Ingalls Saufley
Christened	17 December 2022[3]
Acquired	12 May 2023[4]
Commissioned	30 September 2023[2]
Homeport	Naval Base San Diego
Identification	Hull number: LCS-34
Motto	Protecting the Frontier[5]
Status	In active service
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	Sea Giraffe 3D Surface/Air RADAR Bridgemaster-E Navigational RADAR AN/KAX-2 EO/IR sensor for GFC
Electronic warfare & decoys	EDO ES-3601 ESM 4× SRBOC rapid bloom chaff launchers
Armament	BAE Systems Mk 110 57 mm gun 4× .50 cal (12.7 mm) guns (2 aft, 2 forward) Evolved SeaRAM 11 cell missile launcher Mission modules
Aircraft carried	2× MH-60R/S Seahawks

USS Augusta (LCS-34) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy.[1][6] She is the second ship to be named for Augusta, Maine.[6]

Design

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]

Construction and career

Augusta was built in Mobile, Alabama by Austal USA.[10] Austal USA delivered the ship to the Navy, in Mobile on 12 May 2023.[4] She joined the active fleet with a commissioning ceremony in Eastport, Maine on 30 September 2023.[11] Augusta arrived at her homeport of San Diego on 30 October 2023.[12]

References

1. "Augusta (LCS-34)". Naval Vessel Register. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
2. "USS Augusta (LCS 34) Littoral Combat Ship". USS Augusta Commissioning. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023.
3. "Austal USA celebrates christening of the future USS Augusta (LCS 34)". Austal USA. 17 December 2022. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
4. "Austal USA delivers the future USS Augusta (LCS 34) to the U.S. Navy". Austal USA. 12 May 2023. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
5. "USS Augusta (LCS 34)". The Institute of Heraldry. U.S. Army. 15 December 2022. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
6. "Secretary of the Navy Names Independence Variant Littoral Combat Ship After Capital of Maine". United States Navy. 31 January 2019. NNS190131-10. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
7. "US Navy Fact File: Littoral Combat Ship Class – LCS". U.S. Navy. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
8. Lundquist, Edward H. (11 January 2011). "Explaining the LCS Multi-ship Buy". Defense Media Network. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
9. Osborn, Kris (27 June 2014). "Navy Engineers LCS Changes". military.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
10. "Austal USA Delivers the Future USS Mobile (LCS 26) to the U.S. Navy". Austal USA. 9 December 2020. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
11. "USS Augusta (LCS34) Commissioning". Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. 30 September 2023. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024.
12. Hand, Vance (30 October 2023). "USS Augusta (LCS 34) Arrives at Homeport in San Diego". Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. Archived from the original on 11 November 2023.

•  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.