USS Pierre is the 19th ship in the class and successfully completed its acceptance trials in June with the highest measured quality score recorded for any LCS over the past 15 years. This achievement highlights the continued advancements made throughout the programme and the proficiency of the shipbuilding and acquisition teams involved.
“The delivery of the final Independence-variant LCS marks the end of a chapter, but not the story,” said Captain Matthew Lehmann, programme manager of the LCS Program Office. “The LCS programme, for all its complexities, has pushed the boundaries of naval design and operational concepts.”
He added that the Navy is already operating LCS vessels equipped with the advanced mission packages for which they were designed. “They are continuing to evolve those operational concepts as more unmanned technologies come online,” Lehmann stated.
The USS Pierre is scheduled to be commissioned later this autumn and will be homeported in San Diego, California. From there, it will support missions related to forward presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence across vital operational regions.
“Pierre is more than just the last number – it represents the hard work of manufacturers, suppliers and builders from across the nation culminating in a warship that will serve as the Navy’s most versatile workhorse for years to come,” said Melissa Kirkendall, acting programme executive officer for Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC). “The legacy of Pierre and her sister littoral combat ships is the vibrant shipbuilding industrial base that we now have in the mid-tier yards that are now constructing the Navy’s next-generation warships.”
Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) are designed to operate in coastal environments and address evolving 21st-century maritime threats. They are agile, fast and equipped to function both independently or as part of a networked force alongside larger surface combatants such as cruisers and destroyers.
PEO USC is responsible for designing, building, maintaining, and modernising the Navy’s small surface combatants, unmanned maritime systems, mine warfare, and other expeditionary and special warfare platforms.
