Newest Littoral Combat Ship to be Named USS Mobile

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Alabama will now have two U.S. warships named for prominent cities: the 26th littoral combat ship will be named the USS Mobile, the Navy announced on Sept. 22. The announcement comes on the heels of the naming of the USS Montgomery (LCS 8).

Both LCSs were built by Business Council of Alabama member Austal USA in Mobile.

The USS Mobile is the 26th LCS in the fleet. Naming a second U.S. warship after an Alabama city is a great event for Alabama and reiterates the tremendous role Alabama continues to play in building America’s defense, Austal USA said.

U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Mobile, said naming a future LCS after the city of Mobile is quite an honor.

“Our area takes such pride in building these fine ships, just the latest vessel in Mobile’s long history of shipbuilding,” Rep. Byrne said. “I know the spirit and patriotism of Mobile will be encapsulated in this ship.”

The USS Mobile (LCS 26) will be the fifth ship named after the city. A guided missile cruiser is named the USS Mobile Bay (CG-53).

“We’re so excited to build a great warship named after our hometown,” said Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle. “The hard work and dedication of thousands of Mobilians, along with the support from this great city, made this possible, something everyone should be so very proud of. We can’t wait to get the future USS Mobile into the fleet to help defend our freedom across the globe.”

The navy said that Rebecca Byrne, wife of U.S. Rep. Byrne, will be the ship’s sponsor.

“The Navy has selected a tremendous woman to sponsor this ship,” Perciavalle said. “The work that Rebecca Byrne does for the community here in Mobile is unsurpassed. “On a regular basis, she’s at the forefront of community development, transformation and charitable giving.”

Austal USA began designing and building the Independence-variant LCS for the U.S. Navy in 2004. More than $400 million has been invested in the expansion of Austal’s state-of-the-art ship manufacturing facility and the company has increased employment to more than 4,000 professional and production staff at its 164-acre campus in Mobile.

Several future LCSs are under construction at Austal USA in Mobile.