MOBILE, Ala., Oct. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The first Littoral Combat Ship built
by the General Dynamics Team, Independence, was christened today at the Austal
USA shipyard in Mobile Bay.
U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama was the principal speaker. Other
speakers included Donald Winter, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, and U.S. Rep. Jo
Bonner of Alabama. Doreen A. Scott, wife of former Master Chief Petty Officer
of the Navy (MCPON) Terry Scott, ceremonially named the ship by breaking the
traditional bottle of champagne against its hull.
The Littoral Combat Ship is a key element of the Navy's plan to address
asymmetric threats of the twenty-first century. Intended to operate in
coastal areas of the globe, the ship will be fast, highly maneuverable and
geared to supporting mine detection/elimination, anti-submarine warfare and
anti-surface warfare, particularly against small surface craft.
The LCS 2 is the sixth U.S. Navy ship to be named Independence. Earlier
ships were named for the attribute or abstract noun 'independence.' The Navy
will name its class of Littoral Combat Ships after towns or small cities.
The Independence moved from the Austal building hall to the water in April
2008 and entered the final stages of construction, including completion of
outfitting, tests and system activation. The General Dynamics Team expects to
deliver Independence to the Navy in 2009.
General Dynamics Bath Iron Works is the prime contractor for the General
Dynamics Littoral Combat Ship Team. Partners include Austal USA (Mobile, AL);
BAE Systems (Rockville, MD); General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems
(Fairfax, Va.); L3 Communications Marine Systems (Leesburg, VA); Maritime
Applied Physics Corporation (Baltimore, MD); and Northrop Grumman Electronic
Systems (Baltimore, MD).
Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine, is a leading designer and builder of
complex surface combatants for the U.S. Navy and employs approximately 5,900
people. General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs
approximately 84,600 people worldwide and anticipates 2008 revenues of
approximately $29.5 billion. The company is a market leader in business
aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions;
shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies.
More information about the company is available on the Internet at
www.generaldynamics.com.
SOURCE Bath Iron Works
