The U.S. Navy ship was first commissioned outside the United States. The ceremony was held at the HMAS Kuttabul of the Royal Australian Navy base in Sydney.

The Australian Ministry of Defense reported this.

The Independence-class littoral combat ship was named Canberra, after an Australian heavy cruiser that was lost in the Battle of Savo Island in 1942.

It is the second ship of the United States Navy to receive this name. The first one was a Baltimore-class cruiser, serving between 1943 and 1970 and retiring to scrap in 1980.

High-ranking officials from the United States and Australia, including the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, the Commander of the Australian Navy, the Chief of Naval Operations of the United States, the Minister of the United States Navy, and others, attended the commissioning ceremony.

“This is truly a special occasion for our Navy and our nation to be here with you in Australia, one of our closest allies, to celebrate the commissioning of the Navy’s newest warship that will serve throughout the Indo-Pacific region,” said Carlos del Toro, U.S. Secretary of the Navy.

The American department of Australian shipbuilding company Austal Limited built the vessel.

The ship was laid down on 10 March 2020 and christened by Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne in June 2021.

The ship’s homeport is the port of San Diego, and its motto is “We can do it!”

The USS Canberra is the 15th ship in the Independence-class littoral combat ship series.

Independence

Independence is a class of littoral combat ships designed by the Australian company Austal under the LCS (Littoral Combat Ship) program.

The first four vessels of the LCS program are test platforms that were quickly withdrawn from the fleet due to a large number of problems.

The main ship of the Independence class, which entered service in 2010, was decommissioned on July 29, 2021. The second vessel, named Coronado, served only eight years and was decommissioned on 14 September 2022.

The same fate awaits the first two Freedom-class vessels of Lockheed Martin. In addition, some ships are planned to be sold.

The Independence-class vessels have a length of 127.2 meters, a width of 30, 4 meters, a draft of 4.5 meters, and a full displacement of 3,104 tons.

The speed of 44 knots is provided by two General Electric gas turbines LM2500 or by two MTU Friedrichshafen 20V diesel engines.

The range does not exceed 4,300 nautical miles, the crew consists of 40 people and another 35 can be on duty.

The main weapon is the 57mm Mk 110 gun from BAE Systems, RGM-184A (NSM) anti-ship missiles, and AGM-114L Hellfire missiles in the SUW vertical launcher.

RIM-116 missiles provide air defense.