Austal USA christens Navy’s new aluminium hulled ship

Austal USA, the American branch of Australian shipbuilding company and defence contractor Austal, proclaimed that the company has christened its new USS Tulsa (LCS 16), the sixteenth aluminium Independence-class trimaran littoral combat ship (LCS).

An aluminium trimaran hull combat ship is a 419 foot and worth $3.5 billion. The vessel constructed from aluminium makes it much lighter in weight and more agile.

Craig Perciavalle, Austal USA President, said, “We are proud to provide an awesome combat ship to our nation’s incredible sailors. One that will honor the great city of Tulsa as she defends our nation around the globe.”

The ships run at a speed of 40 knots, a 28,000 square foot  mission bay, and has sufficient space on its flight deck to hold two Sikorsky MH-60R/S Seahawk helicopters.

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Austal USA has already delivered five ships and six other ships are under construction. The new USS Tulsa (LCS 16) is expected to be launched in mid-March and delivered in 2018.

The U.S Navy has also awarded  multi-ship contract worth $1.9 billion to Austal USA to construct 12 Expeditionary Fast Transport ships (EPF).