“An important milestone, a ship’s naming is the first step in bringing it to life, and here it continues the long tradition and strong connection between the people of Cincinnati and our Navy”.
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“A fast, agile surface combatant, the LCS provides the required war fighting capabilities and operational flexibility to execute a variety of missions in areas such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare”, according to the Department of Defense.
LCS ships are designed with what the Navy calls “mission modules”, which can be switched out quickly as stated by assigned tasks.
The Little Rock is one of seven littoral combat ships under construction at Marinette Marine.The Lockheed Martin-led industry team – which includes Fincantieri Marine Group member Marinette Marine as the shipbuilder and Gibbs & Cox as the designer – is building the Freedom variant, and has already delivered two ships to the U.S. Navy.
The U.S. Navy said at the time that LCS vessels will be making more frequent visits to the region.
A few 20 ships of the class are still to be built, the magazine noted.
The U-S-S Little Rock still has a few interior work to be completed, then it will be tested before its commission next year.
The Little Rock follows LCS-10, the USS Gabrielle Giffords, in launching this year.
Austal-built LCS ships are 416-foot-long trimarans ready to destroy mines, hunt submarines, interdict drugs and rush humanitarian relief to distant shores.
LCS-9 carries on the heritage of the Little Rock name previously held by a guided-missile cruiser.
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, who served as an officer aboard the cruiser USS Little Rock, gave the keynote address.
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That ship, which is now a museum in Buffalo, New York, was decommissioned in 1976.
