USS Kingsville

USS Kingsville (LCS-36) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy.^[1][6] She will be the first ship to be named for Kingsville, Texas, which is home to Naval Air Station Kingsville.^[6]

Commissioning of USS Kingsville at the Port of Corpus Christi in Texas.
History
United States
Name	Kingsville
Namesake	Kingsville
Awarded	14 December 2018[1]
Builder	Austal USA
Laid down	23 February 2022[2]
Launched	23 March 2023[3]
Sponsored by	Katherine L. Kline
Christened	22 April 2023[4]
Acquired	1 March 2024[5]
Commissioned	24 August 2024
Identification	Hull number: LCS-36
Status	In active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class & type	Independence-class littoral combat ship
Displacement	2,307 metric tons light, 3,104 metric tons full, 797 metric tons deadweight
Length	127.4 m (418 ft)
Beam	31.6 m (104 ft)
Draft	14 ft (4.27 m)
Propulsion	2× gas turbines, 2× diesel, 4× waterjets, retractable Azimuth thruster, 4× diesel generators
Speed	40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph)+, 47 knots (54 mph; 87 km/h) sprint
Range	4,300 nautical miles (8,000 km; 4,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)+
Capacity	210 tonnes
Complement	40 core crew (8 officers, 32 enlisted) plus up to 35 mission crew
Sensors & processing systems	Sea Giraffe 3D Surface/Air RADAR Bridgemaster-E Navigational RADAR AN/KAX-2 EO/IR sensor for GFC
Electronic warfare & decoys	EDO ES-3601 ESM 4× SRBOC rapid bloom chaff launchers
Armament	BAE Systems Mk 110 57 mm gun 4× .50 cal (12.7 mm) guns (2 aft, 2 forward) Evolved SeaRAM 11 cell missile launcher Mission modules
Aircraft carried	2× MH-60R/S Seahawks

Design

In 2002, the United States Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.^[7] The Navy initially ordered two trimaran hulled ships from General Dynamics, which became known as the Independence-class littoral combat ship after the first ship of the class, USS Independence.^[7] Even-numbered US Navy littoral combat ships are built using the Independence-class trimaran design, while odd-numbered ships are based on a competing design, the conventional monohull Freedom-class littoral combat ship.^[7] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Independence-class design.^[7] On 29 December 2010, the Navy announced that it was awarding Austal USA a contract to build ten additional Independence-class littoral combat ships.^[8][9] The Kingsville is designed to travel upwards of 45mph, making it one of the fastest vessels in the navy.^[10]

Construction and career

Kingsville was constructed in Mobile, Alabama by Austal USA. The Navy accepted delivery of the vessel on 1 March 2024, with commissioning expected to follow in mid-2024.^[5] Homeport will be San Diego, California where it will travel to after being commissioned in Corpus Christi, Texas on August 24, 2024.^[10]