The Navy on Saturday commissioned the latest trimaran-style littoral combat ship headed to San Diego.
The USS Manchester — LCS 14 — was commissioned at the State Pier in its namesake city of Portsmouth, NH.
Cmdr. Emily Bassett, the commanding officer of the new warship, called it an “honor of a lifetime to be counted among those sailors who brought this ship to life. These sailors are reasons to make us all proud.”
“The future USS Manchester is a modern marvel and an example of the increased capability that comes from a true partnership with the American industry,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer.
It’s the 12th littoral combat ship to enter the fleet and the seventh of the Independence-variant, all of which are based in San Diego.
The littoral combat ships are a class of ultimately 32 high-speed, agile, shallow-draft vessels that can be quickly modified for different missions, including surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare and mine countermeasures near coastal areas throughout the world.
