MARINETTE, Wis. -- The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of the
future USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) during a ceremony at the Marinette Marine
Corporation shipyard Oct. 16.
Milwaukee is the sixth littoral combat ship to be
delivered to the Navy and the third of the Freedom variant to join the fleet.
Delivery marks the official transfer of LCS 5 from a
Lockheed Martin-led team to the Navy. It is the final milestone prior to
commissioning, which is planned for Nov. 21 in its namesake city.
"With each LCS delivered, we have succeeded in
driving down costs by incorporating lessons learned to provide the Navy with a
highly capable and flexible ship," said LCS program manager Capt. Tom
Anderson. "We are honored to place the Milwaukee in the able hands of her
crew as they set sail for the ship's commissioning."
Capt. Warren R. Buller II, commander, Littoral Combat
Ship Squadron One, was on hand to mark the occasion.
"We are pleased to receive the future USS Milwaukee
into the LCS class," said Buller. "Milwaukee is scheduled to conduct
Full Ship Shock Trials before joining her sister littoral combat ships in their
homeport of San Diego."
Buller's squadron supports the operational commanders
with warships ready for tasking by manning, training, equipping, and
maintaining all littoral combat ships in the fleet.
Following commissioning, Milwaukee will be homeported in
San Diego with sister ships USS Freedom (LCS 1), USS Independence (LCS 2), USS
Fort Worth (LCS 3), USS Coronado (LCS 4) and the future USS Jackson (LCS 6).
LCS is a modular, reconfigurable ship, with three types
of mission packages including surface warfare, mine countermeasures, and
anti-submarine warfare. The Program Executive Office Littoral Combat Ships is
responsible for delivering and sustaining littoral mission capabilities to the
fleet. Delivering high-quality warfighting assets while balancing affordability
and capability is key to supporting the nation's maritime strategy.