Austal launched the 17th Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Augusta (LCS 34). Augusta is the second LCS delivered in Fiscal Year 2023, following the Freedom-variant USS Marinette (LCS 25) in February. The Independence class is a class of littoral combat ships built for the United States Navy. Two additional Independence-variant littoral combat ships are currently under construction at Austal USA, including the recently launched Kingsville (LCS 36) and Pierre (LCS 38). She will be the second ship to be named for Augusta, Maine.

The former USS Augusta (SSN 710), the first ship named after the capital of Maine, was a Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine in active service for 24 years and was decommissioned on February 11, 2009.

The hull design evolved from a project at Austal to design a high-speed, 40-knot-cruising-speed ship. That hull design evolved into the high-speed trimaran ferry HSC Benchijigua Express and the Independence class was then proposed by General Dynamics and Austal as a contender for a fleet of small, agile, multi-purpose warships for the Navy capable of operating in perilous near-shore environments, while capably handling open-ocean tasks.

The littoral combat ship is a fast, agile, mission-focused platform designed for operation in near-shore environments, while capable of open-ocean tasking. It is a versatile and capable vessel designed to perform a range of operational tasks, including mine warfare and anti-submarine warfare, as well as winning against 21st-century coastal threats such as mines and small craft.

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