The following is the text of a news release from the U.S. Navy:
(MARINETTE, Wis.) — The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of the future USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) during a ceremony at the Marinette Marine Corp. shipyard Oct. 16.
Milwaukee is the sixth littoral combat ship to be delivered to the Navy and the third of the Freedom variant to join the fleet.
Delivery marks the official transfer of LCS 5 from a Lockheed Martin-led team to the Navy. It is the final milestone prior to commissioning, which is planned for Nov. 21 in its namesake city.
"With each LCS delivered, we have succeeded in driving down costs by incorporating lessons learned to provide the Navy with a highly capable and flexible ship," said LCS program manager Capt. Tom Anderson. "We are honored to place the Milwaukee in the able hands of her crew as they set sail for the ship's commissioning."
Capt. Warren R. Buller II, commander, Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One, was on hand to mark the occasion.
"We are pleased to receive the future USS Milwaukee into the LCS class," said Buller. "Milwaukee is scheduled to conduct full ship shock trials before joining her sister littoral combat ships in their home port of San Diego."
Buller's squadron supports the operational commanders with warships ready for tasking by manning, training, equipping and maintaining all littoral combat ships in the fleet.
Following commissioning, Milwaukee will be home-ported in San Diego with sister ships USS Freedom (LCS 1), USS Independence (LCS 2), USS Fort Worth (LCS 3), USS Coronado (LCS 4) and the future USS Jackson (LCS 6).
LCS is a modular, reconfigurable ship, with three types of mission packages including surface warfare, mine countermeasures, and anti-submarine warfare. The Program Executive Office Littoral Combat Ships is responsible for delivering and sustaining littoral mission capabilities to the fleet. Delivering high-quality warfighting assets while balancing affordability and capability is key to supporting the nation's maritime strategy.
