Vessel · Sea
Independence-class littoral combat ship
Austal-built littoral combat ship class, distinct from the Freedom variant.
by Austal USA
- Milestones0
- Operators—
- Components—
- Programs—
- Capabilities—
- Inputs—
Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Keith DeVinney via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain (PD-USGov-Military-Navy) · Resized and reencoded as WebP with metadata removed; no additional crop.
Timeline
No milestones recorded for Independence-class littoral combat ship yet. The timeline fills in as unveilings, tests, contracts and deliveries are sourced.
Cost to the Government
Ships · Austal USA
Independence-variant littoral combat ship
One of two distinct Littoral Combat Ship designs; fleet retirements, mission packages and support costs must be tracked by variant.
Acquisition / unit
Not verified
A source with a defensible unit scope and dollar basis has not been verified.
Ships listed without decommissioned / PCU designation
17
2026-01-30 Navy fact file · U.S. only
Derived count of the dated list; excludes ships explicitly marked decommissioned and pending commissioning. The list is not an independently reconciled current register.
U.S. Navy ↗Program quantity
Not verified
A comparable total acquisition quantity has not been verified.
R&D program total
Not verified
A separately identified lifetime development total has not been verified. This is not a zero-cost estimate.
Cost & funding breakdown
FY2019 mixed-variant procurement average
$523.733M
FY2019 · Then-year USD
Derived from $1,571.2M for three LCS ships. Mixed variants; excluded from the headline variant-specific unit price.
CRS ↗Two designs, separate cost records
Freedom and Independence are different ship designs with different propulsion and maintenance arrangements. A combined LCS budget average does not establish a variant-specific unit price, and the number ever purchased overstates the remaining fleet.
Operations & sustainment
Annual O&S / ship
$49.3M / yr
FY2020 · Constant FY2021 USD
GAO historical variant-level average; includes ownership costs beyond a mission package.
GAO ↗Cost over time · 1 observations
Each row retains its original scope and dollar basis. Changing quantities, service life and inflation can change the estimate without changing the price of building one unit.
| Observation | Measure | Amount | Dollar basis | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | Annual O&S / ship GAO historical variant-level average; includes ownership costs beyond a mission package. | $49.3M / yr | Constant FY2021 USD | GAO ↗ |
Contracts & purchasing · 0 records
Award values, ceilings and purchase agreements have different meanings. These records are not added together as total spending.
No primary-source contract record verified in this review. This does not mean there are no contracts.
International buyers
No international purchase documented in this review.
Coverage & open research
- Figures retain the date and scope of the original source. A historical count, cumulative delivery or procurement plan is not today’s mission-capable inventory.
- A source with a defensible unit scope and dollar basis has not been verified.
- A separately identified lifetime development total has not been verified. This is not a zero-cost estimate.
Unit costs and contract unit prices for this system, and budget figures for the programs that buy it. Each figure states its dollar basis and links its source; contract values are under Programs & awards.