The Navy will christen its newest trimaran-hull littoral combat ship, the future USS Kansas City, in a ceremony on Saturday in Mobile, AL.
The littoral combat ships, a class of fast, modular warships, is being built in two variants. The trimaran-hull ships built by Austal USA are based in San Diego and the monohull ships built by Lockheed Martin are based on the East Coast.
Mrs. Tracy Davidson, wife of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Adm. Philip Davidson, will serve as the ship’s sponsor. In a time-honored Navy tradition, she will christen the ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow.
“The future USS Kansas City is a symbol of the strong connection between the people of Missouri and the Navy and Marine Corps team,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “The ship is a testament to our commitment to provide maritime dominance and power projection required by the nation, and to our partnership with industry to build the Navy the nation needs.”
The Navy is building 40 of the ships, which can be used for surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare and mine countermeasures missions in the littoral regions of the world.