By Troy Turner
Mobile-based Austal USA received a nearly $10.7 million Navy task order to provide “advance planning, material procurement and accomplishment of work” for availabilities in support of the USS Pierre littoral combat ship.
Work will be performed in National City, California, and is expected to be completed by December 2026.
Austal USA built and in 2024 launched USS Pierre. It is the last ship of the Navy’s Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program. Following launch, Austal USA’s test and activation team began several months preparing her for sea trials.
The multi-purpose warships can be designed for a wide variety of missions, including anti-submarine, mine countermeasures, surface warfare and special missions.
The Pierre, christened in May 2024, will be deployed to the Pacific fleet area of responsibility supporting forward presence, maritime security, sea control and deterrence.
The Pierre is the 23rd LCS launched at Austal USA, using the modern, safe and efficient multi-step method of rolling the ship onto a moored deck barge and then transferring the ship from the barge to a floating dry dock, according to company materials. The dry dock is submerged, enabling the ship to float for the first time, and then removed from the dry dock and moored pier side to get ready for engine light-off and trials.
“Meeting this ship milestone in such a safe and timely manner demonstrates how well our Austal USA launch team, transporter operators and tug pilots have learned to work together over the last 13 years, seamlessly executing this technical launch process,” said Austal USA Vice President of New Construction, Dave Growden, during the Pierre’s launch ceremony. “Our industry teams work methodically alongside our Navy partners to improve this innovative process with each launch evolution, guaranteeing the Navy a quality product delivered on time and on budget.”
The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair Gulf Coast, Pascagoula, Mississippi, is the contracting agency that awarded the latest contract, which was awarded April 10, 2025.
Troy Turner is the editor and senior consultant for AlaDefense.com. He can be contacted at [email protected].
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