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Fast forward to the 43:00-minute mark to view Sen. Moody’s remarks.
PANAMA CITY, Fla.—Today, Senator Ashley Moody commemorated the newest warship in the U.S. Naval Fleet – the USS Pierre – along with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Congressman Neal Dunn, Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, and other officials in Panama City.
Senator Ashley Moody said, “As a nation, we must never take for granted that our security depends on maintaining the most capable and ready Navy on earth. With today’s commissioning of USS Pierre, our Navy is more equipped to operate in near-shore environments to counter 21st-century threats. May God bless and protect all those who will serve on the USS Pierre.”
The USS Pierre features a sleek, high-performance trimaran hull constructed from lightweight aluminum. This unique three-hull design provides superior stability, reduced drag, and exceptional agility at high speeds. The wide beam also creates a massive flight deck and internal mission bay, offering ample space for aircraft operations and modular mission systems while maintaining a shallow draft for close-to-shore missions. USS Pierre is the 19th, and final, Independence-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) constructed. Pierre is the third ship named in honor of South Dakota’s capital city, and the second Navy warship to bear the name.
USS Pierre is a fast, agile, mission-focused warship designed to operate in near-shore environments to counter 21st-century threats. The LCS is a class of small surface combatants armed with capabilities to defeat challenges in the world’s littorals. LCS can operate independently or in high-threat scenarios as part of a networked battle force that includes larger, multi-mission surface combatants such as cruisers and destroyers supporting forward presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence in key operational theaters.
The Pierre will transit to its new homeport in San Diego following today’s commissioning.
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