Austal USA celebrated the christening of the long run Independence-variant Littoral Fight Ship USS Augusta (LCS 34) in a ceremony on the firm’s Gulf Coast shipyard. Ship sponsor Leigh I. Saufley carried out the ceremonial bottle break over the bow of Augusta, the seventeenth LCS designed and constructed by Austal USA. Saufley served as Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court docket from December 2001 by way of April 2020. She has since develop into the president and dean of the College of Maine College of Legislation, the eighth dean of Maine Legislation since its founding in 1962. The ceremony was extensively attended by elected and neighborhood leaders, Austal USA shipbuilders, and the ship’s commanding officer Cmdr. Christopher Polnaszek, all of whom had entry to tour Augusta following the occasion.
“Constructing these ships shouldn’t be straightforward. It takes hundreds of the world’s greatest shipbuilders right here at Austal USA, together with a strong provider community, a robust partnership with our elected officers, and the cooperation and help of our Navy teammates. I’m pleased with our staff for pulling collectively to realize our widespread objective of effectively delivering state-of-the-art floor combatants to the Navy on finances and on schedule!,” stated Austal USA President Rusty Murdaugh.
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“It’s an honor and a privilege to be the Sponsor of the usAugusta, named for the capital Metropolis of the nice State of Maine. I’m grateful to the women and men of Austal USA for the care and precision with which they’ve constructed the Augusta, and I’m assured that the Augusta will serve the U.S. Navy and the folks of america with distinction. On behalf of the State of Maine, with its lengthy seafaring traditions, Mark O’Brien, Mayor of Augusta, Maine, and my Sponsor’s Matron, Cathy Ingalls, I ship our greatest to Commander Polnaszek, his crew, and all who may have the nice fortune to expertise the Augusta’s energy and velocity,” stated Leigh I. Saufley.
Independence-variant Littoral Fight Ships are quick, optimally-manned, mission-tailored floor combatants that function in near-shore and open-ocean environments, profitable in opposition to Twenty first-century coastal threats. LCS 34 is the second U.S. Navy vessel to be named Augusta in honor of the Maine state capital, the primary being a Los Angeles-class nuclear assault submarine decommissioned in 2009. Maine has one of many highest per capita concentrations of veterans within the U.S. and boasts an extended historical past of shipbuilding. Augusta is deliberate for supply in early 2023 and will probably be homeported in San Diego, Calif. the place Austal USA may have the potential to dry-dock and supply lifecycle sustainment help for the Independence-variant ship class and different comparable sized ships at its waterfront restore facility.
