Austal has delivered the seventh vessel in the Independence-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) class, USS Manchester (LCS 14), to the US Navy on 2 March. Six LCS remain under construction at Austal’s Alabama shipyard. 

The vessel has successfully completed acceptance trials in early January which verified its propulsion plant, ship-handling abilities, auxiliary systems and the vessel’s manoeuvrability through the high-speed steering.

The US Navy’s sixth Independence-class littoral combat ship (LCS) USS Omaha (LCS 12) has been commissioned on 3 February.