USS Omaha (LCS-12)

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

USS Omaha underway on 8 August 2021
History
United States
NameOmaha
NamesakeOmaha
Awarded29 December 2010
BuilderAustal USA[2]
Laid down18 February 2015[2][3]
Launched20 November 2015[2]
Sponsored bySusan Alice Buffett[1]
Christened19 December 2015[1]
Acquired15 September 2017[2]
Commissioned3 February 2018
HomeportSan Diego
Identification
Motto
  • Fortiter In Re
  • (Resolute In Deed)
StatusActive
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeIndependence-class littoral combat ship
Displacement
  • 2,307 t (2,271 long tons) light
  • 3,104 t (3,055 long tons) full
  • 797 t (784 long tons) deadweight
Length127.4 m (418 ft)
Beam31.6 m (104 ft)
Draft4.3 m (14 ft)
Propulsion2 × gas turbines, 2 × diesel, 4 × waterjets, retractable Azimuth thruster, 4 × diesel generators
Speed+40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph), 47 knots (87 km/h; 54 mph) sprint
Range4,300 nmi (8,000 km; 4,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)+
Capacity210 t (210 long tons; 230 short tons)
Complement40 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
Aircraft carried2 × MH-60R/S Seahawks

USS Omaha (LCS-12) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the fourth ship to be named for Omaha, the largest city in Nebraska. The vessel's keel was laid down on 18 February 2015 at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Alabama and launched on 20 November. The ship was commissioned at San Diego, California on 3 February 2018 and was assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One.

Design

In 2002, the United States Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.[4] 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 (LCS-2).[4] Even-numbered U.S. 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.[4] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Independence-class design.[4] On 29 December 2010, the Navy announced that it was awarding Austal USA a contract to build ten additional Independence-class littoral combat ships.[5][6]

Construction and career

The vessel was ordered from Austal USA with a contract awarded on 29 December 2010.[2] The ceremonial laying of the keel was on 18 February 2015, at their shipyard in Mobile, Alabama.[3] Omaha was launched from Austal USA's shipyards in Mobile, Alabama on 20 November 2015.[7] Omaha was christened on 19 December 2015. The ship's sponsor was Omaha philanthropist Susie Buffett.[1] The littoral combat ship was the fourth ship to be named for Omaha, the largest city in Nebraska.[8][9] Omaha was commissioned on 3 February 2018 in San Diego, California.[10] She was assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One.[11]

UFO incident

On 15 July 2019 alleged multiple UFOs were tracked on the ship's radar while training off the coast of San Diego.[12] Subsequent investigation by the Pentagon's Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF) failed to determine the nature[13] or origin[14] of the phenomena, which remain unexplained.

References

  1. ^ a b c Liewer, Steve (22 December 2015). "Susie Buffett christens USS Omaha, the newest member of Navy's fleet". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Omaha". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Austal commemorates keel laying for USS Omaha (LCS 12)" (Press release). Austal USA. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d "US Navy Fact File: Littoral Combat Ship Class – LCS". US Navy. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  5. ^ Special from Navy Office of Information (29 December 2010). "Littoral Combat Ship Contract Award Announced" (Press release). Navy News Service. NNS101229-09. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  6. ^ Osborn, Kris (27 June 2014). "Navy Engineers LCS Changes". www.dodbuzz.com. Monster. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  7. ^ Program Executive Office Littoral Combat Ships (20 November 2015). "Future USS Omaha (LCS 12) Launches" (Press release). Navy News Service. NNS151120-25. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  8. ^ "Navy Names Five New Ships" (Press release). U.S. Department of Defense. 15 February 2012. 109-12. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  9. ^ "Introducing... The USS Omaha". WOWT.com. WOWT NBC Omaha. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  10. ^ "USS Omaha will be commissioned in San Diego today". 3 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  11. ^ "LCS Squadron 1". public.navy.mil. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  12. ^ Barnes, Dustin (28 May 2021). "UFO filmmaker releases 46-second video allegedly showing swarm of objects hovering near Navy ship". USA Today. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  13. ^ Cohen, Zachary; Williams, Katie Bo (4 June 2021). "US intelligence officials have no evidence confirming Navy pilot UFO encounters were alien spacecraft". CNN. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  14. ^ "U.S. government finds no evidence aerial sightings were alien spacecraft -NYT". Reuters. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.