Armed Forces News

The littoral combat ship (LCS) Mobile completed successful acceptance trials Sept. 25, making it the third such vessel to do so this year. The trials took place in the Gulf of Mexico, not far from where the Austal USA facility at Mobile, Alabama, where it was built. The vessel’s major systems and equipment all met Navy expectations – the final step before it is deemed fit to join the fleet. The LCS Mobile is an Independence variant of the class, capable of high-speed operations in shallow waters in a group or independently. Ships in the class can be configured to conduct surface, mine, anti-mine and anti-submarine warfare. Four more such ships – the Savannah, Canberra, Santa Barbara and Augusta, are now under construction at Austal USA.