The Navy christened its 12th futuristic Independence-variant littoral combat ship on Saturday in a ceremony at the Austal USA shipyard in Alabama.
The future USS Oakland will be based in San Diego, the home port for all of the trimaran variants of the warship class, after its delivery and commissioning.
Kate Brandt, the federal government’s first sustainability officer and now worldwide head of sustainability for Google, broke the traditional bottle of champagne against the ship’s hull.
“We are honored to host Ms. Brandt as the ship’s sponsor,” said Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle. “Her time spent serving our country through her work for the government, specifically the Navy, and her dedication to green initiatives protecting the environment make her a clear choice as the sponsor of Oakland.”
The littoral combat ships are are class of high-speed, shallow draft designed for surface warfare, anti-submarine patrols, and mine countermeasures missions in the littoral regions of the world. They are being built in two variants, with the more traditional monohull ships based on the East Coast.
