USS Charleston (LCS-18)

	USS Charleston on 18 July 2018
History
United States
Name	Charleston
Namesake	Charleston
Awarded	29 December 2010
Builder	Austal USA
Laid down	28 June 2016
Launched	14 September 2017
Sponsored by	Bradley Byrne and Charlotte Riley
Christened	26 August 2017
Acquired	31 August 2018
Commissioned	2 March 2019
Homeport	San Diego
Identification	MMSI number: 368926271; Hull number: LCS-18;
Motto	While We Breathe, We Fight
Status	Active
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Independence-class littoral combat ship
Displacement	2,307 metric tons light, 3,104 metric tons full, 797 metric tons deadweight
Length	127.4 m (418 ft)
Beam	31.6 m (104 ft)
Draft	14 ft (4.27 m)
Propulsion	2× gas turbines, 2× diesel, 4× waterjets, retractable Azimuth thruster, 4× diesel generators
Speed	40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph)+, 47 knots (54 mph; 87 km/h) sprint
Range	4,300 nautical miles (8,000 km; 4,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)+
Capacity	210 tonnes
Complement	40 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	BAE Systems Mk 110 57 mm gun; 4× .50 cal (12.7 mm) guns (2 aft, 2 forward); Evolved SeaRAM 11 cell missile launcher; Mission modules;
Aircraft carried	2× MH-60R/S Seahawks; MQ-8 Fire Scout;

USS Charleston (LCS-18) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the sixth ship to be named for Charleston, the oldest and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina.^[6]

Construction and career[]

Charleston was built by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama. A ceremonial laying of the keel was held at the Austal USA shipyards in Mobile on 28 June 2016. The ship's sponsor, U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne, welded his initials into the keel of Charleston as part of the ceremony.^[4]

Charleston was commissioned on 2 March 2019^[3] and she has been assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One^[7] at her homeport of San Diego.

On April 27 2021, an unmanned helicopter, a MQ-8 Fire Scout, took off from the ship at about 3:40 a.m.^[8] The aircraft, which is 31.7 feet long and roughly 10 feet tall, then crashed into the side of Charleston and was not recovered after falling into the sea.^[8]^[9] Despite damage to a safety net on the ship and a strike to the hull, Charleston was able to safely operate after the crash.^[10]

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Charleston (LCS-18)". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
^ "Navy Takes Delivery of Future USS Charleston (LCS 18)" (Press release). United States Navy. 4 September 2018. NNS180904-17. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Commissioning Ceremony Breathes Life into USS Charleston" (Press release). United States Navy. 3 March 2019. NNS190303-01. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Austal USA Hosts Keel Laying Ceremony for LCS 18" (Press release). Austal USA. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
^ "Austal USA Christens Charleston (LCS 18)" (Press release). Austal USA. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
^ "Navy secretary to visit Charleston Friday for USS Charleston ship-naming". The Post and Courier. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
^ "LCS Squadron 1". public.navy.mil. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
^ ^a ^b Military Helicopter Crashes Into USS Charleston, Sinks Into Sea. April 27, 2021. NBC San Diego. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
^ (Vietnamese) Trực thăng không người lái đâm vào chiến hạm Mỹ, làm hư hại thân tàu. April 28, 2021. Nguoi Viet Daily News. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
^ MQ-8B Fire Scout Crashes Into Littoral Combat Ship USS Charleston On Deployment. April 27, 2021. USNI News. Retrieved April 28, 2021.

This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.

External Links[]

USS Charleston launches a Rolling Airframe Missile

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[NVR_Charleston-1] "Charleston (LCS-18)". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 25 July 2016.

[2] "Navy Takes Delivery of Future USS Charleston (LCS 18)" (Press release). United States Navy. 4 September 2018. NNS180904-17. Retrieved 4 September 2018.

[commissioned-3] "Commissioning Ceremony Breathes Life into USS Charleston" (Press release). United States Navy. 3 March 2019. NNS190303-01. Retrieved 3 March 2019.

[Charleston_keel_laid-4] "Austal USA Hosts Keel Laying Ceremony for LCS 18" (Press release). Austal USA. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.

[5] "Austal USA Christens Charleston (LCS 18)" (Press release). Austal USA. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.

[PostAndCourier2015-6] "Navy secretary to visit Charleston Friday for USS Charleston ship-naming". The Post and Courier. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.

[7] "LCS Squadron 1". public.navy.mil. Retrieved 25 February 2018.

[Helicoptercrashes-8] Military Helicopter Crashes Into USS Charleston, Sinks Into Sea. April 27, 2021. NBC San Diego. Retrieved April 28, 2021.

[9] (Vietnamese) Trực thăng không người lái đâm vào chiến hạm Mỹ, làm hư hại thân tàu. April 28, 2021. Nguoi Viet Daily News. Retrieved April 28, 2021.

[10] MQ-8B Fire Scout Crashes Into Littoral Combat Ship USS Charleston On Deployment. April 27, 2021. USNI News. Retrieved April 28, 2021.

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v t Flight 0 littoral combat ships
Freedom class	Freedom Fort Worth Milwaukee Detroit Little Rock Sioux City Wichita Billings Indianapolis St. Louis Minneapolis-Saint Paul Cooperstown Marinette Nantucket Beloit Cleveland
Independence class	Independence Coronado Jackson Montgomery Gabrielle Giffords Omaha Manchester Tulsa Charleston Cincinnati Kansas City Oakland Mobile Savannah Canberra Santa Barbara Augusta Kingsville Pierre
List of United States Navy amphibious warfare ships

History
USS Charleston on 18 July 2018
United States
Name	Charleston
Namesake	Charleston
Awarded	29 December 2010^[1]
Builder	Austal USA^[1]
Laid down	28 June 2016^[1]^[4]
Launched	14 September 2017^[1]
Sponsored by	Bradley Byrne and Charlotte Riley
Christened	26 August 2017^[5]
Acquired	31 August 2018^[2]
Commissioned	2 March 2019^[3]
Homeport	San Diego
Identification	MMSI number: 368926271 Hull number: LCS-18
Motto	While We Breathe, We Fight
Status	Active
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Independence-class littoral combat ship
Displacement	2,307 metric tons light, 3,104 metric tons full, 797 metric tons deadweight
Length	127.4 m (418 ft)
Beam	31.6 m (104 ft)
Draft	14 ft (4.27 m)
Propulsion	2× gas turbines, 2× diesel, 4× waterjets, retractable Azimuth thruster, 4× diesel generators
Speed	40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph)+, 47 knots (54 mph; 87 km/h) sprint
Range	4,300 nautical miles (8,000 km; 4,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)+
Capacity	210 tonnes
Complement	40 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	BAE Systems Mk 110 57 mm gun 4× .50 cal (12.7 mm) guns (2 aft, 2 forward) Evolved SeaRAM 11 cell missile launcher Mission modules
Aircraft carried	2× MH-60R/S Seahawks MQ-8 Fire Scout