Naming of Newest Independence Variant Littoral Combat Ship

Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer announces that the next Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship will be named USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32).

The future USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32) is named in honor of Santa Barbara, Calif. and is the third ship to bear the name.

“I am pleased to name the next Independence variant LCS after the city of Santa Barbara,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “This city’s innovative workforce and longstanding support of our Navy and Marine Corps team, whether active duty, reserve force, civilian or Veterans, the support from this community strengthens our Navy and nation.” The future USS Santa Barbara will be built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. This ship will be 421 feet long with a beam length of 103.7 feet and be capable of operating at speeds in excess of 40 knots. The Navy has accepted delivery of 16 LCss. Including the recent contract modifications, a total of 32 LCSs have been procured with 10 ships under construction (LCS 15, 17, 19-26).

LCS is a modular, reconfigurable ship, designed to meet validated fleet requirements for surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare and mine countermeasures missions in the littoral region. An interchangeable mission package is embarked on each LCS and provides the primary mission systems in one of these warfare areas.