By Troy Turner
The USS Mobile, an Independence-variant littoral combat ship built in her namesake city, will undergo maintenance, modernization and repair work in San Diego before spring 2025.
The Navy awarded BAE Systems-San Diego Ship Repair an almost $28 million contract for the work and for restricted docking availability.
“The scope of this acquisition includes all labor, supervision, equipment, production, testing, facilities and quality assurance necessary… for critical maintenance, modernization and repair programs,” the Department of Defense announced.
Work will be performed in San Diego and is expected to be completed by May 2025.
Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting agency.
The USS Mobile in April concluded a six-month deployment in the U.S. 7th Fleet Area of operations “to enhance interoperability with Allies and partners and serve as a ready-response force in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” ship media reported.
The ship, built in Mobile by Austal USA, was commissioned in May 2021.
Littoral combat ships were designed to provide the Navy a fleet of smaller, agile, multipurpose warships capable of nearshore operations. They include a landing platform, normally used for helicopters. The ships can operate independently or in high-threat environments as part of a networked battle force that includes larger, multi-mission surface combatants.
Austal USA built another ship carrying an Alabama name, the USS Montgomery, also a littoral combat vessel.
The Montgomery in 2022 was involved in successfully launching sea-based missiles at a land-based target for the first time from a littoral combat ship during a Navy exercise.
It, like the USS Mobile, is homeported in San Diego.
Troy Turner is the editor and senior consultant for AlaDefense.com. He can be contacted a [email protected].
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