Austal USA has delivered the final Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship, designated LCS 38, to the US Navy. Named the future USS Pierre, the ship was launched in 2024 and passed its acceptance trials in mid-2025. This marks the conclusion of the Independence-variant’s 15-year production run. Once commissioned later this year, the vessel will operate out of San Diego. The Littoral Combat Ship fleet includes two types: the Independence-class and Freedom-class, optimized for fast, flexible missions in coastal environments. Although designed for modularity and rapid deployment, the LCS program experienced significant setbacks, including budget overruns, maintenance reliability issues, and difficulty reconfiguring mission modules—prompting the Navy to retire several ships well before their expected lifespan.
