The Navy will welcome two new vessels this Saturday, the Virginia-class submarine USS Oregon and the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Cincinnati.

The Oregon will be christened at General Dynamics Electric Boat's facility in Groton, Conn., at 10 a.m., while the Cincinnati will be commissioned at the same time on the west pier in Gulfport, Miss.

The principle speaker at the Cincinnati's commissioning will be Rep. Brad Wenstrup of Ohio, with former Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker serving as ship's sponsor for the fifth vessel to honor the third-largest city in Ohio, the Navy said in a statement.

The LCS is a reconfigurable ship that uses interchangeable mission packages for fleet requirements of surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare and mine countermeasures missions in the littoral regions.

As a result of the interchangeable packages, as well as open architecture design, the vessels can exploit littoral maritime areas using a variety of manned and unmanned vehicles, sensor systems and modular weapons.

Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon will deliver the keynote address for the Oregon's christening and break a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow to formally christen the ship, which is "a time-honored Navy tradition," the Navy said in a statement. Dana Richardson is the submarine's sponsor.

Construction of the future USS Oregon began in the fall of 2014, and delivery is set for fall of 2020.

The future Virginia-class attack submarine USS Oregon will be the third U.S. Navy ship named for the state. The first USS Oregon was bought as a brigantine ship and used for exploration from 1841-1845. The second was commissioned in 1896 and was used in Spanish-American War.

The Virginia-class attack submarines are replacing the Los Angeles class submarines as they retire.

Related Links
Naval Warfare in the 21st Century

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Navy starts second round of Ghost Fleet Overload USV tests
Washington (UPI) Oct 2, 2019
The U.S. Navy announced the start of the second phase of its program of development of unmanned vessels, known as Ghost Fleet Overlord. Naval Sea Systems Command on Tuesday announced the transition from the first to second phase of development, which officials say will help inform development and use of the branch's eventual USV fleet. The first phase was dedicated to converting commercial fast supply vessels into USVs, or unmanned surface vessels, for testing. It centered on reliability ... read more