The United States Navy held the commissioning ceremony for its first warship in a foreign port Saturday, in Sydney, Australia.
Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael M. Gilday was in attendance at the USS Canberra’s presentation, an Independence-class littoral combat ship that was decorated with red, white, and blue banners. This particular version features an aluminum trimaran hull built by Austal USA and General Dynamics, with the motto “Can Do” on its crest.
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“With today’s commissioning, USS Canberra is ready for service alongside the Royal Australian Navy and the combined maritime force of allies and partners who stand united across the entire Indo-Pacific,” Gilday said in a statement. “Wherever it operates, Canberra will proudly bear the name of the Australian capital … honoring the sons and daughters of this great nation, whose countless acts of valor, courage, and sacrifice will forever be etched in our memories and inscribed in our hearts.”
The ship was named after the Australian Ship Canberra, which fought alongside the U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal during World War II. It did not survive the battle. Then-president Franklin Delano Roosevelt would go on to name a subsequent naval ship, the USS Canberra, in the first homage to an ally’s fallen vessel, which sailed for 25 years before it was put out of commission.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles suggested that Australians should be “proud” of the ship’s legacy in its name, and historical significance in its port. Marles said the LCS would uphold “rules-based order” in the area.
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In a similar show of partnership, Japan tested its surface-to-ship missile by launching it off Australia’s Jervis Bay, roughly 121 miles south of Sydney. This was the first time the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force tested its missile capability in the country.
Littoral combat ships were first contracted by Congress in 2004, with the first four editions retiring in 2020. Now, Freedom, Independence, Fort Worth, and Coronado, are functioning as test platforms.
