Welcome to Navy Live blog coverage of USS Cincinnati (LCS 20)’s commissioning ceremony.

The principal speaker will be Rep. Brad Wenstrup of Ohio. Former Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker will serve as the ship’s sponsor. Senior military representative at the ceremony will be Adm. James Foggo III, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples, Italy.

The future USS Cincinnati is the fifth U.S. Navy ship to honor Ohio’s third largest city.

Live video of the Oct. 5 ceremony on the west pier in Gulfport, Mississippi, is scheduled to begin 10 a.m. (CDT).

Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is a fast, agile, mission-focused platform designed for operation in near-shore environments yet capable of open-ocean operation. It is designed to defeat asymmetric “anti-access” threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft.

An interchangeable mission package is embarked on each LCS and provides the primary mission systems in one of these warfare areas. Using an open architecture design, modular weapons, sensor systems and a variety of manned and unmanned vehicles to gain, sustain and exploit littoral maritime supremacy, LCS provides U.S. joint force access to critical areas in multiple theaters.

Initiated in February 2002, the LCS program represents a reduction in time to acquire, design and build ships in comparison to any previous ship class. Currently, a total of 33 LCS are planned: 16 ships have been delivered (LCS 1-14, 16 and 18); 10 additional LCS are under various stages of construction and three are in the pre-construction phase.

https://navylive.dodlive.mil/2019/10/04/uss-cincinnati-lcs-20-commissioning/ poyrazdogany