US Navy commissions littoral combat ship Kingsville

The US Navy commissioned its newest Independence-class littoral combat ship (LCS) into service in a ceremony in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Saturday, August 24.

USS Kingsville was built at Austal USA's shipyard in Mobile, Alabama under a contract originally awarded in December 2018. The 18th Independence-class LCS is also the first American warship to be named after the city of Kingsville, Texas.

The name Kingsville was chosen due in part to the decades-old partnership between the city and the navy. Specifically, Kingsville is also home to a similarly named US Navy air station that trains the service's future tactical jet pilots.

Kingsville has a length of 418 feet (127 metres), a beam of 104 feet (31.6 metres), and a displacement of 3,104 tonnes at full load. Armament includes a BAE Systems naval gun, four Browning M2 12.7mm machine guns, and Evolved SeaRAM surface-to-air missiles.

The ship's propulsion will deliver a maximum speed of 43 knots. Alternatively, a cruising speed of 20 knots will enable the LCS to sail up to 4,300 nautical miles.