Former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords took part in the christening of the future USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) at Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., June 14. This is the third littoral combat ship (LCS) in Austal’s 10-ship, $3.5 billion block-buy contract.
The Independence-variant littoral combat ship is a 127-meter (419') aluminum trimaran, capable of being outfitted with reconfigurable payloads (mission packages) which can be changed to support mine countermeasure, anti-submarine and surface warfare missions. The LCS is only the 16th U.S. naval ship to be named for a woman and the 13th since 1850 to be named for a living person.
