In 2002, the U.S. Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.[5] The Navy initially ordered two trimaran hulled ships from General Dynamics, which became known as the Independence-class littoral combat ships after the first ship of the class, USS Independence.[5] 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-classlittoral combat ship.[5] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Independence-class design.[5] On 29 December 2010, the Navy announced that it was awarding Austal USA a contract to build ten additional Independence-class littoral combat ships.[6][7]
Jackson is the third Independence-class littoral combat ship to be built. Jackson was built by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama.[1]Jackson is the second Independence-class ship to carry standard 7 metres (23 ft) long rigid-hulled inflatable boats and improvements in corrosion protection and propulsion over the original Independence (LCS-2) design.[7]
History
Construction of Jackson began on 1 August 2011 with the first cutting of aluminum at Austal USA's Modular Manufacturing facility in Mobile, Alabama.[8] The name of the ship was announced on 5 October 2011.[9] The ship was launched on 14 December 2013.[2]Jackson was delivered to the Navy on 11 August 2015 and placed into service that day.[2] The ship was commissioned in a 5 December 2015 ceremony at Gulfport, Mississippi.[1][10] She has been assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One[11]
Jackson underwent the first of three shock trials[12] in waters off Florida on 16 June 2016, and the last being reported having been completed the week prior to 20 July 2016.[13] A charge of 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg) was set off at around 100 yards (91 m) with the ship wired with around 260 instruments to record the effects.[14]
On 23 May 2022, Jackson participated in the 28th Annual CARAT exercise with the Royal Thai Navy as a part of the Combined Task Force (CTF) 72. Jackson is attached to DESRON 7 and the US 7th Fleet. The MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter was recently deployed on the ship.[15]
Jackson is scheduled to be decommissioned sometime in 2024.[16]
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.
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