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LCS-13 Wichita

USS Wichita (LCS 13) comissioned January 12th, 2019. U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas will deliver the commissioning ceremony's principal address. Kate Lehrer, author and wife of Wichita native Jim Lehrer, the former anchor of “The MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour” on PBS, is the ship’s sponsor. The ceremony will be highlighted by a time-honored Navy tradition when Mrs. Lehrer gives the first order to “man our ship and bring her to life!”

“This commissioning represents USS Wichita’s entry into the active fleet and is a testament to the increased capabilities made possible by a true partnership between the Department of the Navy and our industrial base,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “This ship honors the citizens of Wichita, Kansas for their longstanding support of the Navy and Marine Corps team and I am confident USS Wichita and crew will make our Navy and nation stronger.”

The USS Wichita was iniitally to have been commissioned in the beginning of 2018. Littoral Combat Ship 13 (LCS 13), the future USS Wichita, completed its Acceptance Trials in July 2018. It was slated to be delivered to the U.S. Navy later this year. LCS 13 is the seventh Freedom-variant LCS designed and built by the Lockheed Martin-led industry team.

The Navy christened its newest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship, the future USS Wichita (LCS 13), during a 17 September 2016 ceremony in Marinette, Wisconsin. Wichita, designated LCS 13, honors the city of Wichita, Kansas. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, the junior senator from Wisconsin, served as the principal speaker. Novelist and editor Kate Lehrer, the wife of former PBS news anchor and Wichita native Jim Lehrer, is the ship’s sponsor. The ceremony was highlighted by Lehrer breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow to formally christen the ship, a time-honored Navy tradition. "The christening of the future USS Wichita brings this warship one step closer to joining our nation's growing fleet," said the Honorable Ray Mabus, secretary of the Navy. "The skill and dedication of the men and women who brought this ship from an idea to a reality—our country's incomparable shipbuilders—will be remembered for years to come as the LCS 13 deploys around the world."

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). The Independence variant team is led by Austal USA (for LCS 6 and the subsequent even-numbered hulls).

A fast, agile surface combatant, the LCS provides the required warfighting capabilities and operational flexibility to execute a variety of missions in areas such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare.

Wichita was built with modular design incorporating mission packages that can be changed out quickly as combat needs change in a region. These mission packages are supported by detachments that deploy both manned and unmanned vehicles, and sensors in support of mine, undersea, and surface warfare missions. The ship will be 388 feet long and capable of traveling at speeds in excess of 40 knots. The construction will be led by a Lockheed Martin industry team in Marinette, Wisconsin.

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced that the next Freedom-variant littoral combat ship will be named USS Wichita (LCS 13) during a naming ceremony at Wichita City Hall 16 September 2015.

The selection of Wichita honors Kansas' largest city and will be the third ship to bear the name. The first (CA 45) was a heavy cruiser in service from 1939 to 1947. Active during World War II, Wichita supported amphibious landings during Operation Torch in November 1942 in the European Theater and later participated in the Battles of the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf and the invasion of Okinawa in 1944 in the Pacific Theater, earning 13 battle stars for wartime service. She had a long history of service which included patrolling in Hampton Roads and the Caribbean; conducting exercises in Guantanamo, Hampton Roads and Culebra, Puerto Rico. The second USS Wichita (AOR 1) was a first-in-class replenishment oiler in service from 1969 to 1993. During her first three deployments, AOR 1 made numerous line swings to replenish ships on "Yankee Station," earning four battle stars for service during the Vietnam War.

USS Wichita is a fast, agile, focused-mission platform designed for operation in near-shore environments as well as the open-ocean. It is designed to defeat asymmetric “anti-access” threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft. 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, Marinette, Wis., (for the odd-numbered hulls). The Independence variant team is led by Austal USA, Mobile, Ala., (for LCS 6 and the subsequent even-numbered hulls).