The USS Gabrielle Giffords, an Independence-class littoral combat class warship, left Mobile, Alabama, from Austal's ship manufacturing facility Monday.
Named for Tucson's Giffords, the ship will be commissioned, June 10, in Galveston,Texas, according to Austral USA, the ship's manufacturer. It was christened in June 13, 2015.
#USSGabrielleGiffords (#LCS 10) sailed away from Austal's ship manufacturing facility today. She'll be commissioned, Jun 10, in Galveston,TX pic.twitter.com/9LjEa3zwJd
— Austal USA (@Austal_USA) May 8, 2017
The 421-foot-long Giffords will be the ninth in a series of high-speed vessels designed to navigate in shallow coastal regions known as littoral waters. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has cited the $12.4 billion spent for 26 littoral combat ships as the worst example of wasteful Pentagon spending.
The ship’s name also has been a target for conservatives who see it as promoting stricter gun laws, a cause Giffords has promoted. Some critics lampooned the ship as being gun-free, a bit of parody and fake news that was debunked on snopes.com.
The Navy said it chose to name the ship in honor of Giffords because of the perseverance she showed after the shooting.
“Courage comes in many, many forms — physical, mental, spiritual and political. Gabby has truly modeled courage and resilience,” Vice Adm. Philip Cullom said at the christening ceremony.
Constructed from aluminum and featuring a distinctive trimaran design, the Giffords is armed with missiles, machine guns and fast-firing weapons designed to hit a variety of targets. Its normal crew of 40 sailors and officers can be supplemented as needed for missions.
A sister ship of the Giffords, the USS Montgomery, sustained hull damage in October while navigating the Panama Canal. The same ship was damaged in a collision with a tugboat weeks before.
