U.S. Navy christens new littoral combat ship: USS Tulsa
NewsFebruary 14, 2017
MOBILE, Ala. U.S. Navy officials christened the new Independence-variant littoral combat ship (LCS), USS Tulsa (LCS 16) during a ceremony in Mobile, Alabama in honor of the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“The christening of the future USS Tulsa serves as a tribute to the extraordinary work done by our nation's shipbuilders and brings this great ship one step closer to joining our fleet,” says the Honorable Sean Stackley, acting secretary of the Navy. “Our nation can be proud of this crew as they ready the ship to represent the city of Tulsa, and the United States, around the world for years to come.”
The future USS Tulsa is the second U.S. Navy ship to be named in honor of the city of Tulsa. The first USS Tulsa was an Asheville-class gunboat designated as PG-22 that served from 1923 to 1944 before being renamed Tacloban. She earned two battle stars for World War II service. A cruiser to be named USS Tulsa was also authorized for construction during World War II, but the contract was canceled before it was built.
The USS Tulsa is scheduled for delivery in 2018 and has a maximum speed of more than 40 knots, a 28,000 square foot mission bay, and a flight deck capable of simultaneously holding two H-60 helicopters. Built by by shipbuilder Austal USA, the USS Tulsa is one of the Independence-variant LCS that is built on General Dynamics Mission Systems’ open architecture computing infrastructure (OPEN CI).
Independence-Variant LCS Mission SystemOpen CI controls everything from driving the ship to firing its guns. The systems are designed to maximize automation and enable sailors to focus on their warfighting mission. OPEN CI allows the U.S. Navy to deliver mission capability when and wherever it’s needed, as well as deploy new and updated technology as it advances.
The Independence-Variant LCS is mission-driven, and OPEN CI allows personnel to display information on any monitor throughout the ship. The LCS class consists of two variants, the Freedom variant and the Independence variant - designed and built by two industry teams. The Freedom variant team is led by Lockheed Martin (for the odd-numbered hulls, e.g. LCS 1) while the Independence variant team is led by Austal USA (for LCS 6 and the subsequent even-numbered hulls).
Each LCS seaframe is outfitted with a single mission package made up of mission modules containing warfighting systems and support equipment. A dedicated ship crew will combine with aviation assets to deploy manned and unmanned vehicles and sensors in support of mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare, or surface warfare missions.
Read more on open architectures:
Open architecture role in avionics and electronic warfare designs
Military open architectures and VITA standards
Low-latency processing, open architectures key for smarter radar/EW systems
