USS Pierre (LCS-38)
Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
USS Pierre (LCS-38) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy.[1][6] She is the second ship to be named for Pierre, South Dakota, the first being USS Pierre (PC-1141), a PC-461-class submarine chaser from World War II.[6] Pierre is the 19th and final Independence-class littoral combat ship.[7]
_arrives_in_Panama_City,_Florida_251107-N-UI581-1002a.jpg)
Pierre arriving in Panama City, Florida ahead of her commissioning in November 2025 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Pierre |
| Namesake | Pierre |
| Awarded | 17 December 2018[1] |
| Builder | Austal USA |
| Laid down | 16 June 2023[2] |
| Launched | 5 August 2024[3] |
| Sponsored by | Larissa Thune Hargens |
| Christened | 18 May 2024[4] |
| Commissioned | 16 November 2025 |
| Home port | San Diego |
| Identification | Hull number: LCS-38 |
| Motto | On the Move, On the Hunt[5] |
| Status | in active service |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & 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 (87 km/h; 54 mph) 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 & processing systems |
|
| Electronic warfare & decoys | |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 2× MH-60R/S Seahawks |
Design and construction
In 2002, the United States Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.[8] The navy initially ordered two trimaran hulled ships from General Dynamics, which became known as the Independence-class littoral combat ship after the first ship of the class, USS Independence.[8] Even-numbered US 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-class littoral combat ship.[8] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Independence-class design.[8] On 29 December 2010, the Navy announced that it was awarding Austal USA a contract to build ten additional Independence-class littoral combat ships.[9][10]
It was launched on August 5, 2024, and commissioned on November 16, 2025, in Panama City, Florida.[11][12]
