USS Oakland (LCS-24)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Oakland.

USS Oakland (LCS-24) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy.^[1] She is the third ship to be named for the City of Oakland, California.^[6][7]

USS Oakland in 8 March 2021
History
United States
Name	Oakland
Namesake	Oakland
Awarded	29 December 2010[1]
Builder	Austal USA[1]
Laid down	20 July 2018
Launched	21 July 2019[2]
Sponsored by	Kate Brandt[3]
Christened	29 June 2019[3]
Acquired	26 June 2020[4]
Commissioned	17 April 2021[5]
Homeport	San Diego[5]
Identification	Hull number: LCS-24
Motto	Fortitude, Determination, Communication
Status	Active
Badge
General characteristics
Displacement	2,307 metric tons light, 3,104 metric tons full, 797 metric tons deadweight
Length	127.4 m (418 ft)
Beam	31.6 m (104 ft)
Draft	14 ft (4.27 m)
Propulsion	2× gas turbines, 2× diesel, 4× waterjets, retractable Azimuth thruster, 4× diesel generators
Speed	40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph)+, 47 knots (54 mph; 87 km/h) sprint
Range	4,300 nautical miles (8,000 km; 4,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)+
Capacity	210 tonnes
Complement	40 core crew (8 officers, 32 enlisted) plus up to 35 mission crew
Sensors and processing systems	Sea Giraffe 3D Surface/Air RADAR Bridgemaster-E Navigational RADAR AN/KAX-2 EO/IR sensor for GFC
Electronic warfare & decoys	EDO ES-3601 ESM 4× SRBOC rapid bloom chaff launchers
Armament	BAE Systems Mk 110 57 mm gun 4× .50 cal (12.7 mm) guns (2 aft, 2 forward) Evolved SeaRAM 11 cell missile launcher Mission modules
Aircraft carried	2× MH-60R/S Seahawks

Design

In 2002, the United States Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.^[8] The Navy initially ordered two trimaran hulled ships from General Dynamics, which became known as the Independence-class littoral combat ship after the first ship of the class, USS Independence.^[8] Even-numbered US Navy littoral combat ships are built using the Independence-class trimaran design, while odd-numbered ships are based on a competing design, the conventional monohull Freedom-class littoral combat ship.^[8] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Independence-class design.^[8] On 29 December 2010, the Navy announced that it was awarding Austal USA a contract to build ten additional Independence-class littoral combat ships.^[9][10]

Construction and career

Oakland was built by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama. A ceremonial laying of the keel was held at the Austal USA shipyards in Mobile on 20 July 2018. The ship was christened on 29 June 2019^[3] and then launched on 21 July 2019.^[2] She was delivered to the Navy on 26 June 2020,^[4] and was commissioned on 17 April 2021.^[5] The ship was in Honiara, Solomon Islands on 7 August 2022 for ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal.^[11]