USS Pierre in Mobile Bay

𝙒𝙖𝙧 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙞𝙣 𝙈𝙤𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝘽𝙖𝙮:

USS Pierre, a Littoral Combat Ship built by Austal USA in Mobile, heads into port Wednesday afternoon after undergoing Builder’s trials. LCS 38, as it’s also known, underwent christening in May and is the last ship in the Navy’s Independence-variant LCS program. Pierre will be deployed to the Pacific fleet area and will serve roles including maritime security, forward presence, sea control and deterrence. The LCS series has not been considered a successful venture by the Navy. Manufacturing costs more than doubled due to changes requested in design. Interchangeable weapons systems were initially intended to be installed on the ships to help with hunting submarines and detecting mines, but those plans ran into snags. Several ships were plagued with breakdowns after being released to go into service, causing them to spend extended time in ports instead of at sea. At one point, the Navy acknowledged that LCS series ships are not suitable for fighting competitors such as China. Photo shot from Magnolia Park in Fairhope, roughly 6.5 miles away…